Fire & Ice and Everything Nice
by Agrippina Pelageya
Summary: There is more to Pitch Black than the Guardians ever imagined, as the mysterious and beautiful Nia Bloom, the Keeper of the Wilds, has set out to prove. The past and destiny collide in an epic adventure full of discoveries, new alliances, facing old scars, and finding love. Rated for violence and a bit of kissing - R&R! Pretty, pretty please review? Give it a chance!
1. A Daughter's Love

**Hi! Agrippina here! So, um, this is my second attempt at a fanfiction account, and my first story for RotG. This first chapter is really sort of a prologue for what's to come and to get you interested in Pitch and Nia's past. Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome, but I'm telling y'all right off the bat, flames will be used to roast s'mores!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Nia, the story, and a handful of OCs. All other elements belong to William Joyce and Dreamworks unless specified.**

Fire & Ice and Everything Nice

Chapter 1: A Daughter's Love

_Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage._

- Lao Tzu

I let myself gently float down onto an outcropping on the sheer drop overlooking the Nightmare Realm. The endless labyrinth of stairs, bridges, catwalks, halls, and arches was spread out before me, gray and barren with pockmarked walls and gaunt shadows. Iron cages, rusted and damp, with gothic slopes, hung from the imperceptible ceiling, chains creaking ominously, like the wails of a tortured animal...

I shook my head to dispel the image. I would not think of what those godsforsaken cages had once held. I lept off the ledge and landed on my toes on a catwalk illuminated by that mysterious gray light that kept the labyrinth from total darkness. My side twinged in protest and stung as I walked. I kept pressure on it using the hand not gripping my bow. I kept my eyes and ears peeled for Night Mares, stepping quickly but lightly. All the while, I scanned the bridges and shadows for tall, black-clad figures or glowing amber-and-steel eyes. It was hard to concentrate, though - I was dog tired and my side burned with every step. The constant tugging motions of my hips kept the wound from clotting and so the rag I'd wrapped around my torso was soaked with golden-red blood. To add to my utter joy, I was covered in grime and bruises. But I gritted my teeth and kept going.

I must've walked for an hour. Still no sign of him. I sighed and stopped in a shady hallway and leaned against the wall, groaning from the pain. I pressed harder on the gash and hissed as red-hot pain shot up my ribs.

"What are you doi- What happened?" A familiar voice demanded, harshly at first but then with frantic concern. I had to turn my whole body to see him, and nearly laughed at seeing him look so concerned for me. Especially when he was looking pretty beat himself - he had bags under his eyes, his cheeks were sunken, and instead of his gloomy robe of shadows, he wore a simple black silk dress shirt, black harem riding breeches and Italian-leather, knee-high riding boots.

As it was, I chuckled breathlessly. "What, this? Just a scratch."

Pitch Black snorted and rolled his glowing eyes.

"A scratch?! You're bleeding out, girl - come on!" He spat and grabbed my wrist, seemingly without thinking. He grumbled on about reckless teenagers and something about how, "...in my day we didn't go looking for trouble and then insist we bleed to death in the foyer. No, damnit, we went and got patched up, that's what we did, back when people had the good sense to..." and on and on while he dragged me at a brisk pace that made me bleed even more. Despite the stabbing pain and an oncoming dizzyness, I laughed at his crotchety ranting. One quick look over his shoulder shut me up, though.

He moved several walls and flipped three staircases before we entered his private chambers; there was a lofty four-poster bed with a silk canopy, sheets, and pillows, ceiling-high bookcases filled with his favorites, a spacious desk decorated with exquisite carvings, and a grand fireplace with an intricate wrought iron grate and polished black marble mantle that roared quietly. Gentle oil lamps were mounted on the walls.

He gently pushed me towards the plush chaise in front of the hearth. "Sit your butt down and keep still." He ordered and went to his desk to retrieve something. I smiled and rolled my eyes but did as asked and leaned my bow against the wall, unlacing my boiled leather, high-necked, delicately embroidered shirt and draping it over the arm of the chaise, leaving me in a neon-purple racerback sports bra. I unwrapped my makeshift bandage and chanced a peek at my lovely little souvenir. Ooh. It was a little deeper than I thought...

"Pray tell, what did you do to earn a beating this time?" Pitch called as he returned with various first aid supplies. Including a needle. Ugggghhhh...

"Nothing!" I whined in answer to his question as he sat beside me and probed my side with feather-light fingers. I winced. This wasn't the first time he'd patched me up; anytime I sought him out, I usually got a prize-winning bruise out of it, at the very least. "Your stupid horses wouldn't let me in. Hope you don't mind losing half a dozen." I sniped and chuckled. The acidic sting of disinfectant put a stop to that and I had to grit my teeth and grip the back of the chaise to keep quiet.

Thankfully he was quick about it. "Eh. I can make a dozen more in a snap. Stop tensing - you'll bleed more." He snapped, and then spread something else over the wound - it cooled the pain and numbed the area so that I wouldn't feel the needle pulling the skin back together.

Well, at least I thought it would.

A single squeal escaped me before I bit my tongue and held it in. My nails dug into the frame of the sofa and left indents in the carved wood.

"No matter how ya do it," I panted "there's always more pain than gain." Bloody hells and skies above, this sucked more than falling into a patch of brambles! Well, okay, maybe not that much because I've actually had that happen before, but this still sucked.

"I've always admired your ability to keep quiet under pain. You always were hardy, actually. I remember when I had to set your leg when you were seven after-"

"After I fell off my horse? Yup. Not one of my fonder memories."

"I'd guess not." He chuckled and tied off the stitches, cutting off the excess thread. "You'd make an excellent war prisoner. Wouldn't crack for anyone, I'd bet." He added cheerily. I shot him a flat look.

"If my ribs weren't killing me right now, I'd be in hysterics," but then I chuckled. "Well, I should be tough. You and Mum were the toughest people on this earth." I mused, and then then tried to blow my hair out of my eyes. It fell right back in my face.

Almost unconsciously, Pitch's hand brushed back my always-unruly curls and tucked them behind my ear before ripping open the gauze. He didn't notice my wide-eyed shock until he smacked my arm to get me to lift it again so he could dress the wound. He quirked a brow at my staring.

"What?"

I let a smile spread over my cheeks.

"Nothin'...Dad."

He paused in taping up my bandages and looked up at me. I grinned at him hopefully and nearly bounced when he smiled back tentatively.

A gleam of tenderness entered his eyes as he stroked my hair carefully and traced my cheek with his thumb. I held on his wrist like I had as a child and nuzzled into his warm palm before looking up at him tearfully.

"Daddy...what happened? Why...why didn't you at least call for me?" I whimpered, forcing down my jerking sobs, even as my throat closed up and my heart gave a pained throb. "I could've helped you, you know I could. You know I could, Daddy..." I sniffled, clutching his hand like a little girl - I couldn't bear being so close yet so far from him. His face crumbled and he squeezed his eyes shut, his head hanging so low, his chin touched his chest.

"I...I couldn't stop them...One night, I was myself, and then...nothing. When I finally wrestle back into my mind I'm being dragged into the ground, defeated...shamed..." He barked a humourless laugh. "How low I've fallen, Verañia. It's been...ages since we've been like this. You and Kathy...you don't deserve this, Nia. I earned what happened to me-"

"No!" I snapped "You were tricked! They abandoned you down there, miles away from anyone, thinkin' the great Pitchiner would just fine on his own, and when the Fearlings started messin' with you-"

"I was weak Verañia! I let them see my weakness, I let them trick me!" He roared as he shot to his feet, eyes burning amber, towering over me as he always had. Even on tiptoe, I barely reached his chin. I stood parallel to him anyway, chin jutting out in defiance. My insolence wasn't from my mother's side of the family, that's for sure.

"Would a weak man have done what you did? You served your Empire and protected your family - you took action! Did it cost you everything, did you break our hearts, and lose your humanity, yes! Yes, damn it all, you did, but you saved us! You saved everyone, if those creatures had stayed on the loose-"

"Don't you dare call me some sort of tragic hero, Verañia! _Look at me,_ look at what I did to your _mother!_ Look at all the horrors I've done, the horrors I almost got away with! You can't possibly look me in the eye and tell me you're proud to call me your father!"

"AS PROUD AS THE SUN'S LIGHT!" I shrieked, my voice echoing shrilly off the stone walls. "Prouder than any daughter that has ever been or will be! You, who gave me life, and taught me so much, and gave up everything for all others, YOU ARE MY FATHER AND I WILL NEVER DENY IT! Monsters aren't born Father, they're made - whatever you may have done, you did not do in conscience. I know in my bones that Mother loves you and protects you still, wherever she may be. I know I will never stop seeking you out and braving the coldest shadows so long as I know you'll be there waiting for me. And I know my sister misses you every day of her life and that until she sees your face once more, her heart will never rest!

"I know it like I know my name is Verañia Caliope Pitchiner Bloom, and I know that you are a legend among the Constellations, even today because the TSAR HIMSELF HAS SAID IT!" I finished proudly and gods help me, I stomped my foot because I bloody felt like it and I'd do as I damn well pleased!

Once again, Dad seemed to realize that I had inherited both his insolence and his silver tongue. His expression wavered between angry, shocked, and amused.

I guess he settled on amused because he burst into hysterical laughter, the likes of which I hadn't heard from him in hundreds of years. Literally. The sight sort of stunned me, until I realized he was laughing at me. He roared with laughter and held his stomach and had to flop back on the chaise and pound his fist on the arm, trying to rein himself in.

I was still dumbstruck. And more than a little indignant. I scowled fiercely, crossed my arms and waited for his little fit to subside.

"Done yet?" I snarled when he was wheezing for breath.

"Oh, child," he chortled breathlessly with a giddy smile and an adoring light in his

eyes that made my anger die down a little. "You've always been good for me, little one." He sighed and grinned up at me. "You're just as petulant as your mother. Only you aren't quite as fearsome - more a kitten than a tiger, I think." He mused and chuckled again.

Petulant?! ME?! Why-why that- how dare he-?! AUUUGGGGHHHHH!

Flushed and absolutely indignant, I snatched my shirt and bow and marched out of the rooms, strapping on my things and ignoring his call to stop.

Fuming, I stomped past three arches before I ran smack into his chest. He'd melted right out of the shadows next to me, still chuckling.

"Will you calm down, child? Honestly, you're so testy." He tsked and mussed my hair. I jerked away and pouted, crossing my arms, and refusing to look at him. Dad sighed and drew me into his chest, arms cradling me gently - a silent apology. After a moment I relaxed, deciding it wasn't worth holding onto, and nuzzled into his chest, inhaling the scent of cedarwood smoke and cognac, a combination that was present in my earliest memories.

He rocked us from side to side for a moment, pressing his lips to my hair and resting his chin on my crown. A weary sigh blew over my hair.

"Why did you come, my little one?" He asked in a whisper.

"Because," I mumbled "I heard about what happened, and...I just...I wanted to see if you were okay. Kathy was worried, too, ya know." I added. And she had been - frantic almost. She'd sent for me in an absolute fit, begging that I find our father and make sure he was alright. I'd been at my safe house in Fiji - taking a break, ya know - and I'd had no clue my father had stirred up trouble with the Guardians of Childhood. The outcome of that little uprising was to be expected. The Guardians were just doing what they had been born to do.

But still. He was my dad, no matter his nature. So I loved him, no matter what he did. I hadn't seen him in eighty years because the entrances to the labyrinth moved constantly, plus he didn't like me coming down here - said I had no business down in such an inhospitable place, so full of darkness. And now he had those Night Mares in place to keep anyone out while he recovered from his injuries, and they, apparently, didn't see the resemblance between us. They were beautiful creatures, but downright mean. They were the reason I'd gotten all cut up.

"Oh my little one. You shouldn't worry about me. I don't deserve it."

"Bull. You're my father and I'll worry about you all I like."

He swatted my head. "Language," He admonished, but there was a smile in his voice. I grinned and snuggled into his chest. He squeezed me lovingly and stroked my hair.

With a sigh he pulled away slightly and grinned down at me. "So, why don't we go and sit down and you can tell me what you've been doing?" He suggested, tucking me into his side and starting back towards his rooms.

I giggled and leaned into his shoulder. "Yeah, I'd like that..."

"Oh, and, uh, you wouldn't have happened to have stopped by Ireland, would you?" He said with a hopeful smile. I giggled and patted the buckskin embroidered pouch on my right hip (I couldn't live without that thing - it was charmed to be bottomless so I had all sorts of stuff in there).

"And not pick up a bottle of your favorite whiskey? What do you take me for?" I teased, and drank in his rich, silky laughter. It'd been too long since I'd heard it.

..:oOo:..

We lounged on his poufy bed and toasted our little reunion with two healthy goblets of Powers Irish Whiskey each, and talked for hours. I told him of my exploits around the globe which may or may not have involved a monastery in Tibet, a megaphone with a voice distorter, and a very realistic recording of machine guns going off. I had him in stitches by the time I was done, and I made sure to bask in the glory of my small victory. Hey, not just anyone can make the Boogeyman laugh his butt off.

It was only in the wee hours of the morning that either of us showed any sign of fatigue. Snuggled together, the pleasant buzz of fine whiskey in our heads and our cheeks aching from our laughter, it was easy to pretend that we were in the plush library of our old home, resting after another dull but socially necessary party.

"Daddy?" I cooed drowsily, my head resting on his thigh as his fingers twirled a ringlet of my hair. I fingered the soft, loose material of his sleeve as he 'hmmm'ed noncommittally, head resting against the backboard of the bed.

I had to pause to yawn. "I love you. No matter what." I mumbled, even as my eyes slunk shut and my breaths deepened. I didn't have to fear the Night Mares - I knew he would protect me, even in his sleep. As I drifted off, I barely managed to catch his own drowsy response:

"I love you, too, my little lioness. Always..."


	2. A Sunbeam in the Darkness

**Hello all! Second chapter, yay!**

**So, I checked up on the status of my little experiment, and I have only one review and 28 actual views? Please guys, I really REALLY need you to drop a line and just tell me what you think of it so far and if I should even forge ahead with it. A major shout out to Huddybuddy for being my first and only reviewer! Oh, and to Lunar Nightshade for following!**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

Fire & Ice and Everything Nice

Chapter 2: A Sunbeam in the Darkness

_Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all._

- Dale Carnegie

"Nia."

I groaned from my throat and ignored the voice next to my head, which just so happened to be throbbing. I snuggled back into the sheets, hoping to reclaim Dreamland. It was not to be; a warm hand with calloused fingers brushed my hair out of my face and feathered over my cheek.

"_Niaaaa_...Sweetheart. Wake up."

I whined and tried to bury my face in my pillow, which worked for about as long as it took me to start suffocating. I felt him move off the bed and speak firmly.

"Verañia. I have a bucket of ice water and I'm not afraid to use it."

I shot up faster than one of my arrows with a wild-eyed look. "You wouldn't." I hissed.

He smirked and held up a metal pail by its handle. "I would."

With a shriek, I scrambled to get out of tossing range and was nearly off the bed when his hand latched onto my ankle and started dragging me towards him with a triumphant cackle (which he is too good at in my opinion), me squealing in protest/delight.

"Gotcha! Oh, I never lose at this!" He boasted, and grabbed me by the waist. I didn't even mind the tiny twinge in my side - it would finish healing in another hour or so; one of the perks of immortality.

I twisted in my dad's arms, giggling in abandon and scrambling for a witty retort.

"Y-you are too old for this!"

"Ha! That's rich, coming from you!"

"You're still older and you know it you creaky old sot!"

"That is low! Impudent little stripling- take it back!"

"ACK! Nonononono! Not the ribs, no, mercy! MERCY!"

"Take. It. Back!"

"NEVAAAA-OW! NOT THE RIIIIII-HEHIBS!"

"TAKE IT BAAACK!"

Well, you get the idea. In my opinion, you're never too old for a tickle fight with your dad. Even if you are a 1,000-plus-year-old nature spirit.

After a battle of epic proportions (in which we both had a taste of that ice water), he finally desisted and flopped back on the bed, me tucked into his chest like a football and giggling so hard there was no sound coming out of my mouth. My cheeks and side ached ecstatically.

"O...okay...I-I surrender!" I wheezed, still shaking against his chest. He chuckled and kissed my cheek.

"So that leaves the score at...347 for me, two for you?" He asked sarcastically, voice dripping with victory. I stuck my tongue out at him but giggled.

"Sounds about right...but you fight dirty!" I proclaimed, sticking my nose in the air. He smirked and mussed my hair.

"Since when does the Boogeyman fight fair?" He sneered, and then hauled us both to our feet. He clipped my chin and nodded towards the door with a soft smile.

"Go cause havoc for a while - I'll only be a moment."

I flippantly saluted him and smiled the sly smirk we shared. "Aye, aye sir," I said, and turned to go but not before calling out over my shoulder, "just don't be alarmed if you hear something collapsing!"

He only snorted. "Coming from you? I'm used to it." He jibed and disappeared into the nearest shadow. I chuckled and collected my bow and boots from the wall and exited the rooms, back into the labyrinth. I hardly knew exactly how to navigate it, but I figured Dad could find me in a heartbeat if he wanted to - nothing happened in this place that he didn't know about.

I was in the middle of a particularly ragged bridge when a chilling sound stopped me dead in my tracks. The clomp of iron-hard, razor-sharp hooves. A testy snort. But most importantly, the telltale hiss of shifting sand. I slowly looked over my shoulder and scowled at the Night Mare as she pawed at the ground between us, amber eyes glowing hatefully.

Even though they certainly look like horses, Night Mares are not actually animals. They are ethereal spirits given form and consciousness by the will of a more powerful being (my dad). I doubted attempting to calm one as I would a normal horse would work for anyone other than my dad.

I turned to face her as she nickered a warning. I sank into a crouch and looked her in the eyes - something I knew would intimidate her. Where wolves see eye contact as a challenge, animals like horses see it as being marked for prey. She reared and kicked her hooves in warning; I was pissing her off. I stood my ground and curled my lips back, growling low and letting her see my teeth. I have odd teeth; they were normal, back before I was a spirit. Now they're shiny white, and the canines are perceptively long and sharp. Not enough for people to try to throw garlic at me (if they could see me, that is), but enough for anyone to be wary. Whenever I smile, Dad says I look like a smug wolf.

The sight of my fangs seemed to push the Mare over the edge; she whinnied in outrage and charged at full gallop. I was ready. The coiled muscles of my legs let me spring two feet over her head in a somersault. I swung my bow in a controlled arc and caught her right in the middle of her spine with the sharpened gold caps. Oh, yeah - my bow isn't just pretty - it's functional!

She reared, shrieking in pain, and kicked hard with her muscular hind legs, nearly clipping me in the head. I rolled out of the way and popped back into a crouch, bow poised at my side. I hissed at her and she snorted with a toss of her head.

"C'mon!" I snarled, feinting a charge. As expected, she reared up and tried to kick, but I ducked under the flailing, sharp hooves and in one swift motion, drew my huge hunting knife from my thigh, and slashed in a backwards grip across her exposed belly. The Mare roared in agony and tried to crush me under her hooves, but I'd already leapt away.

I let my knife flash and hissed from deep in my chest. Just as she charged she froze, snorted, and leapt off the bridge, hooves cutting through the air like terrain as she made a speedy getaway. I straightened and turned around frowning. Dad was scowling in the direction the Night Mare had left. He gave me a half-scolding look and shook his head.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?"

I shrugged and flashed my teeth. "What can I say? I got used to picking fights. And you didn't need to butt in." I added with a sniff and a flip of my hair as I sheathed my knife. He snorted and rolled his eyes. He looked better this morning; not as tired. It was either the whiskey or my visit.

"Sometimes I have to wonder if I did right raising you almost like a boy."

"Hey! It kept me from getting married off, didn't it?"

He laughed and tucked me into his side again. His long black coat almost enveloped me. "That it did, little lioness. But I would've felt more sorry for your husband than for you. Poor bastard would've had to deal with a half-wild wife."

"Only half?" I cooed teasingly as we walked along. He reconsidered.

"Alright, two-thirds."

I laughed.

..:oOo:..

We spent three days together. We talked, laughed, joked and tussled around all day before falling into bed together. The way we moved about, you would've needed a pry bar to tear us apart. But I guess that's normal when you haven't seen your only living (semi-accessible) family for sixty years.

On my last day in the labyrinth, we practiced sword fighting, just like old times. He'd had me practicing from the time I was big enough to hold up a blade. And don't think they were those dainty fencing swords - those foil things? No. These were gorgeous Greco-Roman, leaf-shaped swords with Ancient Greek and Latin inscribed on the blades and a bit of heft to the balance. The pommels were solid gold, inlaid with jewels, with aged leather grips and elegant crossguards. The style was a mix of Ancient Greek and Roman, with a bit of Agrippina* and Samurai technique thrown in just for kicks. We slashed and stabbed and rolled under each other's legs, doing backflips and jumping off walls. We could've reduced seasoned professionals to tears. I was reduced to pants. When we finally took a break on one of the bridges, swinging our legs out over the abyss, we were sweating and leaning on each other. But I was smiling like no tomorrow. I loved staying with my dad.

"You still haven't gotten that parry down." He stated tiredly. I only chuckled and rearranged myself so I could rest my head on his lap.

"Whatever. You're just still sore from when I nicked your butt a few years back, remember? That was bloody hilarious."

"Oh yes, for you! I couldn't sit down for three days!"

"You've handed my ass to me a fair few times, though, don'tcha think?"

"Of course. Like when I threw you into the wall so hard you had a concussion and started singing that gods-awful song. Tonelessly, by the way."

"The Spice Girls song?"

"Yes, that abomination." He drawled with a roll of his eyes.

So of course I started howling Wannabe at the top of my lungs. Until he started trying to suffocate me.

"Okay, okay, okay, never again!" I relinquished, half choking half laughing.

Out of nowhere, he was suddenly crushing me to his chest. He was very quiet against my hair. I stroked his hair, the way Mama used to.

"Daddy...?" I whispered very carefully. He sighed against my head and squeezed me for a moment before pulling back just so he could lock eyes with me and kiss my forehead.

"Oh my little lioness. My jewel...If only I tell you just how proud I am of you. You've become a woman of your own out there in the world with only yourself. I wish I could've been there to see you grow and change and...and no doubt kick some serious unsuspecting ass." He chuckled, smiling thinly at me, the expression dulled by the obvious sadness in his eyes. "Our Tsar was wise in saving you and your sister...As for me, well," He sighed and stroked my cheek, his eyes consumed with such a sadness, such resignation, I felt my heart leap in anguish. "I have accepted my fate. You have become a great fire, burning bright and glorious, but high above where I will ever reach you. You are my daughter Verañia - I will love and protect you from all I can until my dying breath. Even if I must do it from afar."

"What?" I gasped, my voice breaking. My gut told me this was quickly going someplace I would look back on and hate with all my might.

My father took me in his arms and told me sincerely,

"I'm dying Nia. Not my body - my self. The man you have only ever seen me as and not...the other one."

White panic flashed in starbursts in front of my eyes. I was hyperventilating. This wasn't possible. My father could not be dying. That was like saying the sun would go out! He couldn't leave me! He'd been there since the moment I took my first breath in life. He'd been there the day I'd died! He'd saved my life more times than I should've been entitled to, he'd given me his advice, his comfort, his smile and his laugh. I knew him like I knew the palm of my hand! To never see that flash of humor or intelligence in his eyes, to never feel his arms around me in a hug worthy of a homecoming prodigal and not a wayward daughter...

No. No, my father could not die.

"If you're joking, it isn't funny Dad." I growled warningly, drilling my eyes into his. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"If only I was, my dear...But I can feel it. Sometimes it slows, others it quickens. It...feels like a headache behind my eyes. Or like a tugging on my veins." He murmured, rubbing at the inside of his forearm like it was bothering him now. The thought panicked me and I grabbed his hand to stop him.

"No! No, you're stronger than that! I know you Kozmotis Pitchiner, and you would never, never let something as simpering as Fearlings crumble you!" I snarled, tears welling in my eyes threateningly.

His eyes flashed as they met mine again.

"I lost the right to bear my name the day I went against the Tsar, Verañia."

I shook my head, practically desperate. "Father-"

"Listen to me, Verañia," he interrupted, his voice like stone, hands gripping my shoulders firmly. "My days as your father are numbered. I am ordering you to leave me now, and to never seek me out again. If you do, I fear what may become of you."

"I don't care, dammit!" I shrieked at last, jumping to my feet, my bow coming into my hand as it always did when I got upset, seemingly of its own will. "You're all I have, Father, I'm not going to abandon you."

As always, he towered over me, regal and imposing. "You will not abandon me, Verañia! Not if you obey me and carry on what is left of our family! As long as you go on, Verañia, the man I was will never die. Live on in my stead and carry out the life the Tsar granted you. You are my legacy, daughter. Live on. Honor your name, Verañia." He ordered, eyes burning bronze with his fervor as he clutched me. His words left me dumbstruck and mute, and I couldn't even react when he crushed me to his chest and whispered his last 'I love you' in my ear before sweeping a shadow over me.

When the rush of darkness slid from me, I dropped to my knees from dizziness, but instead of the stone of the Nightmare Realm, I grasped lush tall grass and rich soil. I panted in growing panic. My father's words echoed in my brain, heavy and dooming.

My father was dying. My guiding hand, my teacher, my mentor, the man who had made my very existence possible...was fading away. And knowing him, now that he had sent me away, that labyrinth would be sealed from top to bottom to keep the Boogeyman contained for as long as Kozmotis could manage. The entrances would collapse and vanish. I would never find them again, never.

My scream at that moment made even the mountains cower.

I shrieked myself hoarse. The world was reduced to a pinprick of blinding, white-hot pain deep within my chest. It was my heart, shredding and clawing itself apart.

No, no, no, _no_, this was impossible. I had seen my mother be murdered. My brother had vanished from my arms. My sister died beside me and was perpetually trapped by the immensity of her charge like Atlas under the Firmament. My father couldn't possibly fade away. He had been fighting and praying for a chance at redemption for centuries.

I set my swimming eyes on the glow of Tsar Lunanoff's starship, suspended and beautiful in the starry velvet sky.

"Tell me what to do...PLEASE!" I shrieked, rocking and pathetic in the dirt, miserable in my heartbreak. "Do as you will with me! Break me into a million pieces if you damn please! JUST SAVE MY FATHER!" I begged, my voice dissolving into ugly, hitching sobs.

_Huntress...dry your eyes, child._

My blood ran cold. I lifted my head and tripped to my feet, staring up at the moon in shock.

"Tsar Lunanoff...?" I breathed.

It's been a long time since I've heard that title, Chuckled the smooth baritone voice. I could just see a faint shimmering to the moon's aura. I was dumbstruck; I hadn't heard that voice since my first moments as a spirit. He had whispered my new name and my title in my mind and then vanished.

"Tsar, I beg you, give me your council at the very least. Please, Majesty, you owe it to me after so many years fulfilling my duties!" I pleaded instantly. If the Tsar was taking the effort to speak to me, he would not be able to very long. I reverted to the formal speech my mother had trained me in, my accent - the same as my father's - becoming more pronounced. My language teetered on jumping to the lost tongue I had spoken as a Constellation.

_You speak the truth, child. When I saved you, I feared you would lose yourself to your grief, and yet you have risen as a magnificent and worthy force of this world. You honor your ancestors, Verañia. I will help you save your father - despite his past actions, he is still the man my parents trusted with their lives all those years ago_.

My blood sang. All was not lost.

"You need only instruct me, Your Highness. I will do anything to save him." I swore.

I could feel MiM's smile in my head.

_What your father told you is true; his essence has been battling the darkness within for too long - simply put, he is exhausted. If he is not cleansed by the Winter Solstice, he will be lost forever. The only one who holds the magic that will purge his mind and body is Nightlight._

That name hit me like a battering ram. My breath whooshed out of my lungs and I nearly choked on my own tongue.

Nightlight (that's not his real name, by the way, but his real one is some ridiculously long monstrosity) was the moon spirit who had once been charged with guarding Tsar Nova Lunanoff's only son, now known as MiM. My father had known him, back when he was General of the Golden Army. Nightlight had hidden away MiM when Dad was possessed and went after the Tsar and Tsarina (supposedly, but that's a particularly long story). When the young new Tsar was safely ensconced on the Moon Clipper, Nightlight and my father met in a battle of astronomical proportions. Many stars were snuffed out that day, their songs of possibility and magic forever silenced; that battle won my father a particularly vicious nickname: the Star Slayer.

His warped starship, renamed the Nightmare Galleon, ran aground somewhere in modern-day Europe, and my father was pinned to a boulder within a warded cave, a dagger through his heart, Nightlight's essence trapped within the diamond tip to sustain the wards.

However, a few centuries later, the essence enchanting the dagger wore thin, and finally snapped. The Nightmare King was unleashed once more, and that was when the Dark Ages began. By some miracle, a star pilot by the name of Sanderson Mansnoozie crash-landed on the moon, and the first Guardian was chosen by MiM. The rest, as they say, is history.

Except for the little part where Nightlight had practically dropped off the face of the earth. No one had seen or heard of him in centuries.

And for MiM to ask me to find someone who had such history against my own father - someone who, by all accounts, was dead - was a bit much.

"NIGHTLIGHT?! Is this some sort of joke?! How am I - the daughter

of the Nightmare King - supposed to go looking for the guy that imprisoned my dad in the first place?!" I shrieked, gesticulating wildly, my goody-goody dialect slipping. I could've sworn the moon grinned in amusement.

_Peace, Huntress. Nightlight will not judge you for your father's actions, but I will warn that he will not be easy to convince._

"It's not his opinion of me I'm worried of," I muttered "But, for

curiosity's sake, why exactly do I have to find Nightlight?" I drawled, crossing my arms and quirking a brow. I was sure this made for quite the amusing scene: an oddly-dressed, sassy teenager standing in a big field, arguing with a enormous rock in the sky. If anyone were to stumble across me now, I might as well kiss my dignity and reputation goodbye.

_Nightlight has in his possession the dagger used to bind your father. He has been altering and perfecting a spell that might draw out and destroy the Fearlings instead of simply containing them._

"Hold on," I snarled, throwing out my hands as a right fit bubbled up in my throat and turned my words into rough growls. "You mean to say that these last few centuries, Nightlight had that spell in his possession? Because if that's the case-"

_No, child. He never dreamed he could create such a spell, and wracked with guilt and sorrow as he was, it was years before I could convince him to endeavor it._

I paused at that and pouted at the ground. That changed things a bit; it was hard to be mad at the guy when I thought about how he'd lost just as much as I had. Not one to shrug off the words of one such as MiM (he was the Tsar - I was a descendant of the Pitchiners. I was honor-bound to serve him) I sighed and looked up at the moon once more.

"Very well, Excellency. I shall trust your word. How must I seek Nightlight?"

_You must first seek out the Guardians of Childhood. Ally yourself and your father with them - you will need their gifts as well as their support to survive the journey that awaits you._

I found myself floored in shock once again.

"Th-the Guardians, Majesty?" I choked out. "But-but, my Tsar! They'll never agree, they know nothing of my father's history! They hardly know of me!" I objected, knowing it was true. My brushes with the four Legends had been brief and completely one-sided. Well, except for Bunnymund - but I hadn't seen him in two years.

_Do not be so self-deprecating, Huntress. You are a force of the Earth herself. Without your essence, you would find that this world would not be half as prosperous and beautiful. If they do not know of you, do not hesitate to show them exactly who you are and just how far your powers extend._

I was amazed at his sincere faith in me. It occurred to me that perhaps he had kept tabs on me all this time - watching as I discovered my powers and evolved as I met new people and experienced new things. A burst of affection and utmost loyalty for my patron blossomed my heart. I would make the Tsar proud.

I stood tall and proud and placed my right fist over my heart.

"_Fada beo an Rí Mhór_." I intoned in the tongue of the Stars.

_Féadfaidh fada do chroí a líonadh le réalta amhrán, Coimeádaí..._

My eyes filled with tears. I had my Tsar's blessing - I would need nothing more.

I bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

_Go with all confidence, my child. I know you will overcome the obstacles that await you. One final word of advice: Do not think like Nightlight. His location has remained secret for millennia. Remember, the greatest of lights are most beautiful in the greatest of shadows._

As the voice of my Tsar faded away, I pondered. And pondered. And pondered some more.

Ah, hell. What was all that supposed to mean?!

I blew my hair out of my eyes and gave the obnoxious rock the worst case of stink eye I could muster, even if he was my monarch.

"For a giant, glowing rock in the sky, you sure can be vague." I muttered. But then I took a breath and rubbed at my eyes. I felt tired; or rather, drained. Too much had happened in such a small span of time.

But, there was no helping it. I had my goal, my deadline, and some clue of how to get started. First stop, the North Pole.

I opened my drawstring pouch as wide as it would go, plunging my arm in up to my elbow and calling up the items I desired. Out came my blue suede parka, gaban-length, lined in silky white weasel fur, with an oversized cowl and clasps of gold shaped like interlocking eagle talons. Man, I loved that parka. Next came my caramel leather, cashmere-lined gloves and my creamy alpaca-wool scarf.

Once I was decked out for the cold weather that awaited me, I turned my face to the breeze and grinned.

"Hey, Notus," I greeted my old friend, the spirit of the South Wind. He was as old as this Constellation, and the first friend I'd ever known in my new life. His warm, playful wings of air and spice rushed around me in enthusiastic greeting. His fleeting voice ululated in my ears; I had strained for centuries to understand the chinooks and gales of his many moods and words. I dared say I was the only living being who could speak with the untamable Wind.

_Huntress! Child of Fire! So long, so long!_

"Yes, it's been a bit, my friend - I was with my father."

_Father of the Huntress? Nightmare King?_

I sighed sadly, and let his ethereal feathers slip and catch between my fingers. "Yes, Notus. My king of a dad. He needs my help. So I must ask for yours."

_You need but ask, dear child..._

My smile spread. Good old Notus; always watching out for me.

"Then to the North Pole, my friend!" I whooped, jumping onto his shoulders with a twirl. He tossed me up and caught me once more with his own giggle of delight.

_Great fun, great fun! Sneak to the lands of Boreas, haha!_

With that, I streamlined my body and rocketed up and up and up right into the kingdom of the Winds, where only clouds and the souls of the brave dared venture. Where freedom was free and the lost could find themselves. I loved it. Oh, to live my days here - in the bitingly cold, dangerously thin airs. To defy the claws of the Earth's core and live as the gods - untouchable, invincible, eternal.

But I had too much to live for down there.

Still, nothing like a supersonic flight through the stratosphere to get you pumped for a life-or-death mission, I always say!

**Ah, and so our plot is revealed! And don't think it'll be so easy as deciphering MiM's little riddle, which, when I reveal it, I hope will induce some face-palming ;)**

*** I am not alluding to my own username, just FYI! This is an actual swordfighting technique - Inigo Montoya mentions it when he's fighting Westley! Look it up!**


	3. Keeping Them Close

**Hi! Sorry for the delay, but, as with many of us, final exams, projects, ****_life in general_****, et cetera, got in the way. And also, I was slaving through chapter 4; I hate putting something up without having the follow-up ready. Fortune favors the prepared after all, right?**

**Okay! So, Nia gets to meet Jack! Oooh... I fully admit that I am just a little too proud of this one. Even if it is kinda sorta short. Oh crap, I'm rambling. Blegh. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Rise of the Guardians. Bunny, Pitch, and Jack would be my man-harem if I did...**

Fire & Ice and Everything Nice

Chapter 3: Keeping Them Close

_If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner._

_- Nelson Mandela_

..:oOo:..

I'd only ever met North once, when he was much younger, the time I'd had the _brilliant_ idea of finding a lynx of the Taiga Forest. For one, I found the lynx. For another, I discovered I absolutely detested the cold. As for North and I, well, we'd barely conversed. It went something like:

"Hello."

"Hi."

"Vhat are you doing so far out here, little one?"

"Oh, ya know. Looking for a lynx."

"Ah - they are hard to find. You are a hunter?"

"No - I'm the Keeper of the Wilds."

"A spirit? So young?"

"Yup."

…

…

"Well, then, eh..."

"Verañia - you can call me Nia if you like."

"Nia, then. I am afraid I must be going."

"Okay. Pleasure meeting ya."

"Likewise, my girl."

It was a long shot that he would remember even seeing me, let alone recall my name. Still, it was my only clue. Stupid MiM and his love of enigmatism...

The South Wind dropped me off right at the front door of Santoff Clausen, and, with a ruffle of my clothes and a fleeting whisper to be safe, rushed off, promising to come if I should need him. I smiled; Notus wasn't fond of many, much like his brothers, but I could only suppose I was the exception to the rule.

I pulled my scarf down from my face and knocked on the tall, intricately carved pine doors, crossing my fingers that they would at least open the door and let me get a word in edgewise.

When it _did_ open, thank the gods, I squeaked in terrified surprise. A Yeti, a real freakin' Yeti, was glowering down at me over a bushy Chinese mustache, his huge shaggy body plated in Sky Iron armor, a simple morningstar spear in his grip.

I choked - I'd thought those gargoyles in Berlin had been joking about the Yetis! Even in my 1,000-plus years, I'd never seen a living Yeti.

But I cleared my throat and spoke - or tried to speak, anyway. Gee, Nia, what a time for your snark and bravado to fall short.

"Um. Hi." I croaked "I'm Verañia Bloom. Er. C-could I possibly see North?" I eeped out, cursing my suddenly-leaden tongue.

The Yeti narrowed his eyes at me and grumbled low. I felt my palms sweating bullets inside my gloves as I clenched my fists. I nearly bit my lip off as I stood there, stiff and awkward.

Finally, the guard decided I wasn't worth shish-ka-bobbing, and stepped slightly to one side to admit me.

Mumbling a thank you, I slipped inside, sliding off my hood. The guard led me down a couple of hallways and then onto a catwalk tucked against the wall, where my eyes nearly popped out of my skull.

No wonder kids dreamed of living in Santa's workshop.

The whole place was the epitome of organized chaos, with Yetis bustling back and forth with all sorts of supplies and packages. Some were painting, some were wrapping, some were assembling. A few were going up and down on a lift set on the central column that ran up and down the entire complex. Toys of every size and function, whooped and zipped about, nearly clipping a few heads, including mine. I gazed around in childish delight, and so nearly stepped on a strange little creature that chittered up at me indignantly and scurried off to join others laying siege to a table laden with eggnog, hot chocolate, and enough cookies to feed an entire elementary school.

Elves, I realized, and giggled.

The Yeti led me down two of the levels, past an enormous globe of the world blinking with millions of little golden lights, and then to a quieter hallway with a single vault-like door at the end. He pointed down to it with a grunt and an encouraging pat on my shoulder. I appreciated the gesture, but it didn't calm me one bit.

Seas, but I must've stood there an eternity, psyching myself out so bad, I had to administer a mental slap and steady my breathing.

"For Dad, Nia, for Dad," I growled to myself, and then marched right up to the door and knocked firmly.

"_Vhat is it?!_" Came the booming reply. I took that as permission to enter and opened the heavy door a crack, peeking in. A dolly stroller ice sculpture on booster rockets (was I only one who saw a paradox in that?) went zipping past my nose, and I ducked under it before my eyes landed on the Big Man himself.

"North?" I called out quietly. The white-haired wizard paused his work on a huge block of ice and turned to face me, his baby blues wide. His mustached lips lifted into a surprised smile.

"Ha! Verañia Bloom! Little Huntress, vhat brings you to Pole?" He exclaimed, gesturing me into the room and giving me a big, warm hug. I laughed at his jolly welcome and smiled up at him, thankful that he did in fact remember me. "Has been long time." He noted.

"Yeah, it has. But, I'm afraid this isn't a friendly visit, North." I began, my deadline almost breathing down my neck, even if it was months away. At least I had MiM's word to back me up - he didn't talk to just anyone.

At my words, North went completely serious. He pulled up an extra stool for me to sit on and poured me a mug of hot chocolate. I accepted the warm drink gratefully and joined him at his work table.

"Vhat has happened?" He asked, giving me his full attention. I scoffed at his question, frowning into my mug.

"Too much. But, to keep it brief, MiM spoke to me last night." I said, and watched as his bushy brows rose in shock.

"He sought you out?" He demanded.

"Oh no!" I corrected, before he could get the idea that I had been Chosen; stars of the Void, that'd be the last thing I'd need on my plate. My job was hard enough already. "I was seeking his advice - you can imagine my shock when he actually answered."

"It must have been important," North noted.

I nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Very. It...it has to do with my father. And also to do with you - the Guardians, I mean."

"How so?"

"A very long time ago, my father was tricked, and he lost himself inside his own body. You could say he was possessed. The...the _things_ inside him_ used him_, North. Made him do horrible, horrible things. Over time, he learned to control them, somewhat. It allows him to have moments of clarity, usually after being injured. And well, he took a fair hit recently - I went to see him three days ago. But..." here I had to clear my throat and tightened my grip on the mug to keep my hands from shaking. "Point is, North...he's dying. He's dying inside himself, he's so _tired_...and if I can't help him by the Winter Solstice, he'll...he'll...Stars, I don't even want to _think_ what will happen if he fades and those damn things go loose." I snarled between my teeth and shivered, even in my parka. I looked up at North imploringly.

"If the things he's kept inside him take over fully, Seas only know _what_ he'll do to the children, North.

"He won't stop at spreading fear, he'll turn them into Fearlings again! It'll be the War of Dreams all over again, and he would never forgive himself, it wasn't his fault that they left him all alone-"

"Nia!" North exclaimed, grabbing my shoulders just as I started hyperventilating. I held my breath for a moment and let it out in one long whoosh.

"S-sorry..." I mumbled, watching the ripples go across my hot chocolate. My hands were shaking.

I could feel North's piercing gaze on me, considering my words. I cursed myself for panicking. I'd faced worse than this and not once lost my cool. I guess when it comes to my family, I'm simply too emotional. The jig was up, now, though. North would have to have been tuning me out to not figure out who I was talking about.

I forced myself to meet his ice blue eyes; if there was one thing that had never changed from my transition from mortal to spirit, it was the pride I felt for my father. I would never deny who he was to me. Come hell or high water, my name was still Pitchiner, one of the most powerful and respected bloodlines of the Lunanoff Court. I would defend my heritage until the last drop of blood was spilt from my body, no matter against what or whom.

"...Who is your father, child?" North asked after a very long moment. My gaze never wavered when I answered.

"Kozmotis Pitchiner. I believe you know him as Pitch Black."

I saw recognition flit across his eyes, and with good reason. I actually did look a bit like my father, if only more feminine and not as sharp-nosed (Dad used to say his uncles called him Hawk as a kid - yes, for his nose).

When North touched my shoulder again, I went horribly tense, expecting an attack. But what he said shocked me.

"I will call the others."

..:oOo:..

I'd seen the Aurora Borealis quite a few times. But never when it was launched to summon the Guardians. The stories didn't do it justice; it was utterly breathtaking.

After North kicked up the Lights, he stood beside me before the fireplace in pregnant silence. I felt squeamish with nerves, my fingers drumming my own ribs, fidgeting with every little thing they could reach (ah, the joys of ADHD) - I didn't know how he was taking all this so easily.

"North?"

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you...I dunno! Why are you so...so calm about...well, me?" I asked with a shrug of my shoulders. North grinned at me from the corner of his big blue eye.

"The first time I met you, the others and I had just defeated Pitch. I do not forget a face, whether friend or foe, old or new. I saw hints of him in you from the second I saw you. Ze posture, ze voice, ze grin. All Pitch's. Although, I admit you were far more pleasant.

"I didn't voice my suspicion then because I feared being wrong.

After all, how could such a nice young lady be the daughter of such a villain as Pitch? But, after hearing zat Pitch had a daughter, and seeing you looking so much like him, well..."

The corner of my mouth twitched downward at the word 'villain'. I hated when people bad-mouthed Dad right in front of me, but then, no living soul knew I was his daughter; Dad had ordered me never to let anyone know who I was to him. That was about to change, though.

"How did you know he had a daughter?" I asked.

North grinned. "Ombric - my teacher. Perhaps you have heard of him?"

I grinned back. "Please. Ombric Shalazar is unforgettable. Crazy old bean..." I muttered fondly. My history with the creaky, eccentric wizard was brief, but memorable. He'd taught me much and given me bits of wisdom that, at the time, helped me avoid quite the existential crisis.

Just then, the doors banged open, and a blur of bluish-gray fur came barreling into the sitting room, spitting something like,

"Coldcoldcoldcold! Why's it always so _bloody cold up 'ere?!_" Spat the seven-foot Pooka as he shook out his tattooed fur and stomped his huge feet. When Bunnymund's eyes landed on me, his face broke into an astonished smile.

"Nia?!" He gasped, floppy ears perking. I smiled at my old friend.

"Hiya, Bunny."

He laughed and came in to sweep me into a warm, fluffy hug.

"Where ya _been_, sheila?! I missed ya, Sparky - yer the only sane comp'ny I can find!" He admonished, changing his grip so he could give me a noogie. I squealed and shoved him off, pinching his ribs to make him jump.

"I missed ya, too, Bunny." I told him sincerely. Bunny had been good to me for a long time now - like a big brother. He'd given me good advice and a place to crash plenty of times. I adored him; so you can understand that it panicked me to think I'd have to shatter his trust in me in just a few minutes.

But for now, he was still my friend. He slung his arm over my shoulders and tucked me into his side with a squeeze. I hugged his slim waist and squeezed back, enjoying his warm fur and fresh, earthy scent.

North had watched our reunion with astonished eyes.

"Bunny - you...know her?" He asked, at which Bunny chuckled and pressed his cheek to my head. I purred and nuzzled into his neck.

"Course - Sparky here's got a sanctuary in the Outback. And she's helped wit' the eggs a few times, right Spark?"

I jabbed his kidney, but he barely winced. "Don't call me that." I ordered. Bunny only shrugged with a cocky smirk.

"Hey, s'better than Hothead. Ow!" He yelped when I pinched him again. Right on cue, a blur of blue-green iridescence came fluttering in through the window, soprano voice tinkling a mile a minute.

"-and make sure we sweep the Gold Coast clean tonight, ladies! It's cricket season and more than one little leaguer's gonna lose a bicuspid! Baby Tooth, you're in charge for now, sweetie! Okay North, I'm here, what's- oh. Who's this?" Inquired the hovering creature with a tilt of her elegantly crested head and a perfect, ultra-white smile. I could only gape in admiration - I never thought I'd see her in person. I could feel the energy that bubbled off of her like a pop of floral perfume.

"Toothiana," I breathed to myself in disbelief. I had heard stories of her ferocity in battle, but I'd never expected her to be so heart-breakingly elegant and lovely. My self-esteem went down a notch or two, though I felt nothing but respect and awe towards the legendary fairy Queen.

"Tooth, this here's Nia - pal o' mine. Sparky, this is Toothiana, Guardian of Memories." Bunny gestured between us with a reassuring squeeze to my waist.

"Oh Bunny, don't be so formal! Welcome to the Pole, Nia - just call me Tooth!" She squealed, bubbly as a child, and flitted up to give an unexpectedly warm hug. I stiffened in shock at her actions for just a moment before smiling to myself and hugging her back. It felt tender and welcoming - motherly. Stars only knew how long it'd been since I'd felt anything close.

Suddenly she jerked away with an astonished gasp and an incredulous light in her amethyst eyes, her crest flexing automatically.

"Wait! You're the Huntress! Oh my goodness, you're as beautiful as all the spirits say! Bunnymund, I can't believe you've been hogging her - why haven't we met her before? She's adorable, and just look at those teeth! Perfect!" She gushed, playfully slapping Bunny's arm before taking my hands and holding me at arm's length as though to better take me in. By that point I was blushing an unrestrained scarlet, which I hated doing - I was already too tan, so it looked ruddy against my skin.

Hold up. Rewind.

What was that little movement I had seen at the moment Toothiana's hand made contact with Bunny's arm?

His left ear had swiveled oh-so slightly, and his mouth twitched up in a dopey grin the likes of which I never thought I'd see on my Bunnymund. That look in his eyes! Could it be?

I had to bite down on my lip to keep my own mouth from twitching into the sly, shit-eating grin my mother used to smack me for.

With a little encouragement, I was sure that little spark I'd just witnessed could grow into something beautiful. No counting on Bunny to make the first move, though; his pride was bigger than Australia itself. He wouldn't risk rejection, and if Tooth was even a one-thousandth as cautious around romantic entanglements as I was (long, messy story), she wouldn't wait around forever. I think I owed it to Bunny to nudge his girl in the right direction; ya know, help out a little. Unfortunately my matchmaking scheme would have to wait.

Sanderson Mansnoozie had arrived.

When the streamers of gold caught my eye, I couldn't help the childish wonder that widened my eyes and made a giggle of delight bubble up in my throat and escape my lips. I'd only ever seen dreamsand from afar, and even then its warm, golden luminescence had dazzled me. Now, up close, it enthralled me. It moved in graceful filigree swirls, dips, leaps, and arabesques. One strand wandered close and I simply had to feel it. The silky grains sifted through my fingers before transforming in a swirl and becoming a miniature mustang that reared, neighed, and kicked playfully. It pranced around me as I laughed in amazement before dissolving. My attention was drawn to little round man in robes of scintillating golden sand that floated down from a dissolving bi plane. A warm smile graced his adorable, sleepy features.

"Sandman..." I uttered respectfully, literally resisting the urge to bow before this Legend. He was timeless; as ancient as the very stars and unfathomably powerful and wise. He was a hero of the Golden Age.

When I said his name, he smiled even wider and tipped a bowler hat of sand at me. I giggled in delight and curtseyed with an invisible skirt.

"Sandy, mate, this is Nia - the Huntress, remember?" Bunny said, ruffling my hair. Sandman's golden-brown eyes went wide and he flitted up to me, clasping my hand in both of his little ones, symbols flashing rapidly over his head with an eager smile.

"Uhh..." I droned oh-so intelligently. Again, Nia. Way to lose your smarts right when you need them. Bunny chuckled.

"He's asking if you really did pull that stunt back in the 1600s, something 'bout a pack o' hellhounds running loose on a mountain in Greece?" Bunny explained, looking perplexed as well. But I broke into another shit-eating grin. I knew exactly which hellhound pack he was talking about; oh, that one was a doozy.

"Oh that? Yeah, that was me." I chirped with not an ounce of guilt. Sandman's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped before bursting into side-splitting but silent laughter, nearly floating head-over-heels as he shook with mirth. I giggled as well, knowing someone else had apparently enjoyed that as much as I had. He gave me a sly smile, one prankster to another, and gave me a double thumbs up. I barked a laugh at his approval.

"Hey, someone needed to put that jerk in his place, right?" I said with a flippant shrug and a cruel grin. Sandman nodded enthusiastically with an expression like, 'Tell me about it!'

"Well," North said behind us, glancing at the bay windows flanking the fireplace as though expecting something to come in through them. "We are just missing-"

"Hey North! Sorry I'm late, what's-"

When I turned around to face this new voice, I swear to the Star Seas, the Earth screeched to a halt.

Who in the flippin' galaxies was this kid? He looked like an angel with that silvery hair, snowy skin and gorgeous, electrifying ice-blue eyes. When the light hit them just right, I could see the faint silver pattern of a snowflake in his irises. And to make matters worse, he was exactly the type of guy I was attracted to! Dammit all! It was all there - the rugged, boyish features, young, athletic body - built lean but firmly, like a sprinter. If his posture and the sure grip on his ice-laced shepherd's crook was any indication, he must've been a decent fighter. Ohhh, nothing like a guy who isn't afraid to spar with a girl...

Crap. Stop it! The walls, Nia, the walls!

I snapped my mouth closed and threw up a perfect wolf glare in his direction, angling my body into a an aggressive pose, letting him see the feral glint in my eyes that Bunny was always teasing me about.

Apparently that wasn't enough to deter him. He kept right on staring at me like I was some kind of angel, his cyan eyes wide in admiration. (Okay, I'll admit, I preened inside; I didn't get gawked at by good-looking boys often and actually _allowed_ it.)

"Wow..." He murmured under his breath almost unconsciously. I allowed myself a smirk; yup, apparently I was still gorgeous. Darn.

"Oh fer the love o'..._Frostbite!_" Bunny snapped, flipping into 'Big Brother' mode.

His outburst made the white-haired cutie jump and blink, his knife-sharp cheekbones flushing a strange but suiting violet with the twinkle of frost. Oh yeah, no doubt in my mind now; he was a winter spirit. How inconvenient that I be a fire elemental, huh?

"Hey, nose-nipper, if yer gonna gawk at a lady, at least 'ave the decency to do it while she ain't lookin'!" Bunny chastised with his paws on his hips. The dreamboat's brows (neat but masculine - just how I liked them, damn him!) furrowed in anger and obvious embarrassment.

"Shut it, Cottontail!"

...Oh. My. Stars. If I didn't think he was hot before, I sure as heck did now. If there was one thing I could always appreciate on a guy, it was a sexy voice. His was...crap, how do I describe it? It was like a blizzard on velvet; icy and cutting, but smooth yet rough somehow - perfect for his looks. Not quite that of a man, but definitely not a pre-puberty voice. It was frickin' perfect.

He was making it really hard not to like him. Especially if he was gutsy enough to insult Bunnymund right to his face.

"Me? You're the one tryin' ta catch flies." Bunny snorted. The icy hottie clenched his staff and leaned threateningly towards Bunny like a wolf about to spring, a snarling grin on his pale lips, perfect pearly whites bared, voice sugar-sweet and icy with a delicious spark to his eye.

Oh, _gods_, he was yummy.

"How about you quit trying to get your fluffy little keister frozen solid and tell me who you shoved into a sack this time?" He demanded, and then gave me an appreciative glance from head to toe. Normally that would have earned him at least a dirty look and an insult, except that his eyes didn't linger anywhere. He locked his gaze solidly with mine like he didn't want to look away. I couldn't believe it when just a dash of heat pooled on my cheeks.

But so few guys ever looked at me like that; like I was an actual _person_ and not a piece of meat.

"Oh, real funny, Frostbite. If you must know, this is Verañia Bloom, the Spirit of Freedom." Bunny answered as he put his around my shoulders and gave me a fond grin that I returned, but then he went back to glaring at the cutie. "So keep yer hands to yerself 'cause she's my close friend and a heck of a lot older than you."

Was that a spark of eagerness I saw in his eyes?

"Thank you, Bunnymund," I drawled sarcastically "for basically telling him I'm old."

"No thanks needed, Sparky." Bunny said smugly, until I pinched his ribs again.

"Shut that trap before it gets you in trouble, furball." I snapped, then looked over at the dreamboat and smirked at the admiring, dopey look on his handsome face.

"So, who are you anyway?" I asked outright. Bunny opened his big mouth once more, only to get nailed with a snowball, which made me jump and then laugh hysterically. When I looked again, the living masterpiece was walking closer, his staff over his shoulder, a grin spread across his delicious mouth that made me want to purr. Geez, what was up with my hormones today?!

He extended his hand to me. "Jack Frost - newest Guardian. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Bloom."

Great googly moogly. Not only was he hot and super funny and charming - he had manners. It was official; I'd died and gone to heaven.

Plus, I knew who he was.

"Ah, the infamous Winter Prince. My sister's favorite - I can see why, though you've caused me a fair few headaches, Mister Frost." I purred, vamping up the charm and smoulder whilst offering my hand as well. His responding grin was like a visual aphrodisiac. Sexy as hell.

"Then I offer my most sincere apologies, mi'lady."

Oh. My. Gods.

He took my fingers into his palm and then pressed a chaste kiss to my knuckles. The brief touch of his icy lips on my flesh sent goosebumps racing up my arm and down my spine. Our eyes connected deeply, and even when North coughed awkwardly, I could tell we were both reluctant to look away. I had to fight down a blush when I saw that Bunny was slack-jawed beside me, while Toothiana was biting down an ecstatic squeal. It was the Sandman who surprised me; he had the most epic shit-eating grin plastered from ear to ear, like he already knew where all this was going. Smug little bastard...

"Well, eh, Nia. Go ahead - de floor iz yours." North said rather awkwardly with a gesture for me to proceed.

Oh. Right. I was here on business. Very well - show time.

I cast Jack one more longing look before taking a few steps away so that I was addressing all of them. Bunny looked at me worriedly.

I cleared my throat and looked them square in the eyes.

"I...I really don't know where to start," I said with a small shrug. "But I guess you all should know the reasons behind what I've come to ask of you.

"A long, long time ago, I was mortal, too. So was my sister. We lived with our brother and mother and...and our father. He was a soldier. A General - a war hero. When I was younger, he was tasked with guarding the prison where his armies had captured the darkest scourge of the galaxies: Fearlings."

Bunny and Sandman went stiff and wide-eyed.

"They tricked him," I continued "they had him in thrall and forced him to release them. They overtook his body and...well...many things happened. Eventually, I ended up as you see me now - the Keeper. Last night, I spoke with MiM himself; he told me that there was still a chance for my dad, but that I would need your help."

"Why us?" Jack asked with a hint of caution in his lazuli eyes. I sighed under my breath as I drank in his handsome features; I was sure any connection we might've shared just now was doomed. There goes another one...

"Because it's time you knew who you've really been fighting all these years. Pitch Black isn't who you think he is."

The reaction was instantaneous; they weren't stupid. Toothiana gasped and her hands flew to her mouth. Sandman dropped out of the air, his goldenrod eyes wide with shock. Jack reeled and looked at me with disbelief and even some betrayal. North watched his comrades carefully, shooting me a reassuring glance that slid right off of me.

What hurt me most was Bunny's reaction.

His ears were pinned all the way back, hackles fluffed straight up, emerald eyes narrowed and swimming with hurt and fury. But most of all, disappointment.

My throat closed up. But I didn't so much as twitch when the enraged Pooka advanced on me, his voice a disgusted snarl, his fists trembling at his sides.

"Ninety years I've known you," He began "I thought you a good friend." I flinched at at the venomous words, but met his flaming gaze as he towered over me. The sheer fury rolled off of him in waves. "An' all that time, you nevah thought ta _mention_ that you were the _daughtah of our greatest enemy?!_" He spat, looming over me dangerously. My instincts screamed to back away, to claw at his eyes and flash my teeth and snarl at him to _get away from me_.

But if I did that, I wasn't just dooming myself. I'd condemn my dad, too, and I would lose Bunny for sure.

I spoke through my teeth and never once looked away from Bunny's eyes.

"Because I wanted to be judged for who I was and what I had accomplished. He himself told me not to tell a soul - that he didn't want to endanger me for his deeds." I growled out very softly. Bunny gave one mocking bark of laughter.

"Oh, because that no-good snake's such a great daddy?" He sneered, flashing his teeth. His ears were sticking straight up and his fur was puffed up to make himself look bigger; dominant. Which did not sit well with me. _At. All._

My temper flared. "You don't know him! You know the man created by the Fearlings - but my father is completely different!" I hissed, leaning in as well so that our noses almost touched.

"Prove it."

I turned to Jack, who now regarded me as coldly as an ice sculpture, his arms crossed across his chest.

"Show us just how different your father is from the man we went up against not one month ago." He challenged, cyan eyes flashing silver. I pressed my lips together to keep from baring my teeth and growling; another reason I have such a lousy love life is that I can't handle someone trying to challenge my authority or underestimate my strength, no matter how cute. I was what you would call an Alpha female.

Boys simply don't appreciate that.

But like just now with Bunny, I choked down the urge to pin him and show him exactly who was boss in my packs, and exhaled slowly before speaking. The words came out as low growls anyway.

"Fine. How about my own personal memories?"

I reached into my bottomless pouch and called up the 'proof' he'd demanded, tossing the container to him. He caught and examined it in his hands with wide, inquisitive eyes. It wasn't particularly impressive, but very pretty; it was a blue ceramic sphere with a flat top and bottom lined in tiny pearls and tiled in mother-of-pearl, blue sea glass, and red jasper. The sides were almost embroidered with gold filigree vines, lines of pearls, and tiny emeralds, tiger eye, rubies, aquamarines, diamonds, and amethysts arranged as flowers and leaves.

In all honesty, it was rather humble for something made in the Golden Age.

Toothiana gasped at Jack's elbow and looked up at me.

"Is...is this a star coffin?" She asked, rosy eyes wide in disbelief. I nodded.

"Star coffin?" Jack asked. Toothiana took the small coffin in her hands and touched the tiles carefully.

"It's a lot like the cases I use for the kids' baby teeth, but this..." She trailed off with a shake of her head "these can hold entire lifetimes. I haven't seen one since before the Dark Ages." She looked back up at me. "How did you...?"

I shrugged. "It was common for nobles to have them. For preserving family histories and such."

"Nobles?" Jack asked, his eyes narrowing by creasing at the corners. I shrugged again.

"You wanted proof. That," I pointed at the small coffin resting innocently in Toothiana's hands "contains the most precious memories of my mortal life, and then some. Watch them and I swear on my family's blood, you'll see my father in a very different light when you're through."

Gods, it killed me to do this. That coffin contained my heart's greatest joys - the moments that had made my life so beautiful. No eyes besides my own had ever touched the memories within it; they were sacred to me, seeing as they were, perhaps, the last scraps of the glorious and prosperous empire of my childhood. I wanted to snatch the little box right back. I knew that once they saw those memories, both the good and the bad, they wouldn't look at me the same ever again.

But I also knew that it would prove my father's innocence.

"Hold hands." I instructed. They did so, though with obvious reluctance, and Toothiana held the coffin out to me. I steadied my nerves as I stepped up to the container that held the life that had been ripped away from me. This was it, after all; this was what I needed to do to help Dad.

I placed my fingers on the coded tiles and murmured, "_Nocht do rúin..._"

**Cliffie! Bwahaha! Just so you know, chapter 4 is fresh off the keyboard - literally. I finished it this morning in the gym before the first bell. So, if you, my (hopefully ****_existant_****) readers wish to know what the heck happened to Nia and Pitch 3,000 years ago, drop me a review! Srsly, guys - I could really use them! Not asking for much! 'I like', 'I hate', whatever you want! Just PLEASE review!**

**Oh! And on a final note, thanks to Xion5 for putting my crap on his/her favorites!**


	4. Falling Stars

**My parents are literally breathing down my neck as I write this...**

**Okay! Chapter 4, WHOO! And school is out, DOUBLE WHOOOO! Then again, I have to get a job...boo.**

**This one was hard to write. I'm not sure I portrayed everything the way I needed to *freaks out*. So be sure and drop me a line and tell me how I did!**

**Okay, reviews:**

**Xion5: I read that as I was sitting on the bus home from school. I had to resist the urge to fist pump. Seriously, thank you so so much! You made my day!**

**TwixyReitz: Please! Please, feel free to post every chapter! You have no IDEA what it would mean to me, I would love the feedback, I need it! **

**Thanks also to redriver1311 for favorting!**

**Okay, Agrippina, enough spewing; ON WITH THE SHOW!**

**WARNING: Angst. Blood. I hated myself for doing this to Pitch and Nia...**

**Disclaimer: Nope.**

Fire & Ice and Everything Nice

Chapter 4: Falling Stars

_What happened in the past that was painful has a great deal to do with what we are today..._

- William Glasser

Jack had been expecting it to be like with his own memories. That the images would gently bloom in his mind's eye and flash by in snippets, reveal the supposed past of the Nightmare King and his near-feral daughter.

He was wrong.

There was a starburst of red-tinged white light, and the world around them melted away with a sound like rushing wind that smelled of sweet, exotic fruit.

They blinked to dispel the blinding stars flashing in front of their eyes, and the Big Five suddenly found themselves not in the Globe Room, but a sunlit library. The fine, heavy drapes adorning the floor-to-ceiling windows were tied back to allow the sunbeams to flood in amongst towering bookcases, warming the plush, cozy velvet couches and wingback chairs. On a reading desk at the far wall, piles of scrolls, maps, and official-looking letters along with a quill and ink bottle had been abandoned. When Jack tried to read the letters, he realized they were written in a beautiful but utterly indecipherable alphabet, almost like runes. The whole place was blessedly peaceful and quiet, which actually put the five Legends on edge.

"Where are we?" Bunny grunted, ears swiveling anxiously, nose twitching like crazy.

No sooner did he speak however, that a figure stepped out from behind some of the bookcases. It was a man; tall, imposing, impossibly regal and handsome. His thick raven hair was swept back, but rumpled, like he had just been running his fingers through it, with a few strands falling into his startlingly bright pewter-gray eyes. His features were very strong and masculine, with cheekbones like steak knives, a strong, pointed chin, and an aquiline nose that on anyone else would've been ridiculous, but it just seemed to work on him. He wore a gray silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, exposing strong, sun-tanned arms, black trousers with a maroon silk sash and gleaming casual dress shoes. On the pointer finger of his right hand was a large, polished sunstone set on a ring of pure gold.

The regal man's pewter eyes were alight with amusement, lips lifted in a smile. He seemed to be looking for something, and his eyes passed right over the five Legends; they were little more than spectres within these memories.

When the man's features suddenly clicked, they all stumbled a little and lost their breath.

"Oh my...Pitch?" Tooth gasped, amethyst eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets. Jack blinked several times, as though trying to dispel a mirage.

"He's human..." Murmured the winter herald. Beside him, Bunny sank to his haunches in pure shock.

"Sparks was tellin' the truth...oh, bloody hell..." The Pooka whimpered under his breath, abruptly horrified at his venomous words towards the teen.

The memory of Pitch was still pacing around the study area, hands on his hips, still looking for something. Or maybe someone, if the sudden giggle that floated from behind the crowded desk was any indication.

Pitch sighed dramatically. "Oh dear, I wonder where my little starlings could be hiding. Certainly not here. Or here," He said, obviously teasing as he silently went towards the desk. "But maybe...AHA!" He exclaimed, leaping behind the desk, only to have his triumphant expression fall into confusion and then amusement. He straightened and scanned the library.

"Clever, clever, my loves. But you can't hide forever~" He sang, and then his eyes brightened and did a double take. The Guardians followed his gaze to a loveseat, where the hem of an indigo silk skirt peeked traitorously from behind the sofa.

Pitch grinned much like Jack did when he was up to no good and snuck up to the sofa, pausing for a moment before leaping over the back with a victorious cry.

There was a shriek of surprise and delight, and then Pitch jumped up with his prey in arms; a little girl, maybe four years old, with porcelain-pale, angelic features, rosy cheeks, wild curls that shined like pale gold combed into some semblance of order, and sparkling, thick-lashed eyes the same striking pewter gray as Pitch's. A sunstone the same size as the one on Pitch's ring was pinned to the front of her dress with a simple brooch of gold.

It was Nia.

The little girl's pink mouth was stretched in a luminous smile of perfect baby teeth that spilled messy, heart-stoppingly adorable giggles as she was mercilessly tickled by her father.

"Ha, I told you I'd get you my little lioness! Now I get to gobble you up!" Pitch growled playfully and blew a raspberry into her neck, which only incited more of that pure, innocent laughter. She flailed to escape his clutches.

"No, no, Daddy, don't gobble me!" She pleaded, shaking with giggles. Pitch laughed, a rich, heartfelt sound the likes of which the Guardians never thought they would hear come from him. The man tossed the child up in the air, which earned him a shriek of delight, and caught her in a tight hug. The way he looked at her! One might've thought he was smiling at the most priceless jewel in all the galaxies. Perhaps, to him, that was exactly what she was.

"Oh alright, my heart, Daddy won't gobble you," He acquiesced, kissing the tip of her doll-like nose. "If you help me find Kathy." He offered with a conspiratorial grin. Young Nia's starlit eyes brightened even more and she nodded eagerly, but before she could turn traitor, another little girl stomped angrily from behind the drapes with a theatrical flourish.

"No fair, Nia - you always rat me out!" She whined in protest. This child was older, maybe seven years old, but just as beautiful as Nia. Pale as the moon with positively dainty features and the same starry eyes as her sister and sire, but her thick mane of locks was Pitch's - glossy raven black and held obediently by a silk ribbon headband. The sunstone Pitch and Nia wore was pinned to her dress as well.

Pitch, meanwhile, laughed at her outburst. "But you're simply too good, Kit-Kat. If Nia never tattled, I'd be looking for months!" Pitch said while Nia giggled into her hand, obviously for his elder daughter's benefit. It seemed to work, because the raven-haired girl thought over that for a second before grinning in satisfaction and running to hug her father's legs, giggling just as enchantingly as her sister. Pitch bent down to scoop her up with a groan of effort.

"Oh, you're both getting so big! Soon I'll see you married off with beautiful little children of your own!" He moaned dramatically with an exaggerated pout. Nia gagged and stuck out her little tongue.

"I don't want to get married, not ever!" She stated with the true unwavering conviction of a child. Kathy, however, swooned.

"I do, I do! I can't wait to have a big gorgeous wedding with a pretty dress and a husband as handsome as Daddy and a house of our own!"

"No one's as handsome as Daddy! Or as brave and strong and smart!" Nia proclaimed with sheer adoration in her eyes as she hugged said man's neck and pressed a kiss to his tanned cheek. Pitch seemed to preen inside under his daughter's praise.

"Yeah, you're right. No one's like Daddy!" Kathy agreed and joined in on the cuddling. Pitch chuckled as he hugged his children close to him.

"My girls...my little jewels...How I wish I could hold you and protect you forever..." He murmured tenderly to them as they nuzzled into his neck and collarbone.

The Guardians, for their own part, were thoroughly dumbstruck. And greatly in awe. The man before them was a loving father through and through; they would've bet serious money that this man would lay his life on the line for his daughters. It seemed impossible that the gentleman of this past wore the same face as the fiend they had known for centuries.

But it appeared there was more to see.

At that moment, the doors of the library opened, and through them entered possibly the most beautiful, elegant, commanding woman they had ever seen.

"Crikey, I can see where Nia gets 'er looks from." Bunny muttered under his breath.

As Jack saw past the lady's blinding beauty, he could see that Bunny was right; Nia's dainty chin and jaw, her straight but pert nose, queenly brows, flawless skin, and cornsilk-pale blond hair had obviously been inherited from this woman, her mother. But the woman's eyes were more round and an intense ocean blue, her hair was gently piled on top of her head and was gently wavy instead of curly. She walked as fluidly and powerfully as an ocean wave, her presence strong and attention-grabbing but not overwhelming - still feminine. Her cupid's-bow lips were lifted in a breathtaking smile, and when she spoke, her voice was a smooth, velvety contralto; a voice fit for tender lullabies, or firm scoldings, whichever was needed at the moment.

"Kozmotis Pitchiner, are you tumbling about with my daughters again?" She demanded, elegant hands placed firmly on her lavender silk-clad hips. Once again, Jack noticed, she wore a sunstone ring on her right hand, identical to her husband's and daughters'. Perhaps the stones were a crest or something of the sort?

Said husband laughed and placed his cheek on top of Nia's head as she and her sister giggled. "Oh, come now, Eurybia, I helped make them - by definition, half of them are mine!" Kozmotis quipped, which caused more giggles to erupt from the girls in his arms. Lady Pitchiner rolled her eyes and shook her head in exasperation.

"You won't get even an eighth of them if you don't put them down," she warned and fixed the girls with a sharp look. "They're late for their lessons. _Again_."

"Awww!" Both girls wailed and turned to their father with huge, watery eyes and pouts more adorable than any kid had a right to wield.

"Just a bit longer, Daddy?" Kathy whimpered, lashes fluttering.

"Yes, Daddy, just one more game, _please~?_" Nia begged with her little hands clasped in front of her, brows arching to give her the most unbearable puppy-dog eyes.

Bunny's jaw literally dropped. "Oh, that's just playin' dirty..." Who in their right mind would refuse a face like that?!

Apparently Kozmotis thought so, too, because he sent his wife a pleading look like, 'Do I have to?'

Eurybia's only response was to lift her brow expectantly.

Kozmotis sighed and set his pleading daughters on their feet and kneeled to their eye level. "Now girls, heed your mother - once you finish we'll sneak down to the stables, deal?" He said, whispering that last part with a mischievous grin and a wink.

Jack wished the guy would stop giving him reasons to respect him.

The girls practically tackled their father for his promise of rule-breaking later, and ran to their mother to hug her skirts as well. Eurybia kneeled down to them and spared a kiss for each rosy cheek before nudging them towards the door.

"Run along, darlings, Magali is waiting in the music room." She urged, and the sisters responded with an angelic chorus of 'Yes, Mama' and rushing hand-in-hand out the doors. At least until Kathy pulled Nia to a stop, put a finger to her lips, and went back to spy on their parents. Tooth giggled at their mischief.

Kozmotis had taken Eurybia's hand and twirled her into his embrace, their eyes meeting and shining with love and devotion.

"You spoil them rotten, Kozo." Eurybia purred, her delicate fingers combing through the hair on the nape of her husband's neck. The Guardians openly gawked when a blush painted the chiseled features of their supposed enemy.

Kozmotis chuckled like a nervous boy and cleared his throat. "H-how can I not? You three are my life, Yuri. Well, three-and-a-half." He corrected himself with a proud, ecstatic smile as he lay a reverent hand on Eurybia's abdomen.

This did not escape the girls' notice, though they didn't fully comprehend the reason behind their father's action. They strained their ears to hear more.

Eurybia hummed blissfully and leaned her forehead on her husband's. "When do you want to tell them?"

"After Nia's birthday. I suspect she and Kathy will be jealous." Kozmotis chuckled. Eurybia smiled, highlighting the beauty mark on the corner of her mouth.

"Oh, don't underestimate them - it might be rather exciting for them."

"Underestimate them? Ha! They're your daughters - perish the thought that I commit that mistake again!" He laughed, and tilted her chin up for a kiss.

The red-white light flashed again, melting away the scenery, and fading to deposit the Big Five in a new setting.

This time, the scene was the bustling Lunar Port of the Royal Interstellar Armada. Before the Guardians was docked an utterly humbling starship being prepped for flight. Its solar sails glittered like topaz, the rich mahogany hull polished to a blinding sheen. The rear thrusters were being inspected, and the last of the cargo was being lowered to the holds. The figurehead was a rearing winged horse with sapphires for eyes and gold for a body. Gold paint glinting along the side declared the ship as the _Pegasus_.

Next to Tooth, Sandy looked like he was on the verge of a conniption. Symbols flashed over his head like strobe lights as he gestured at the ship frantically with wide eyes.

"Slow down, my friend - calm yourself!" North urged with a soothing hand gesture. The star-pilot took a breath and tried to convey his words more intelligibly.

"Pitch...ship...N-nightmare? Yeah? Ship?" Bunny interpreted, looking confused for a few moments along with the rest of them. But then his emerald eyes widened and he pointed towards the _Pegasus_.

"Y-you sayin' that's the _Nightmare Galleon_?" He asked shakily. Sandy nodded, looking remorseful.

"Nightmare Galleon?" Jack asked, having never heard of such a thing. North cast a piteous glance at Bunny, who looked like he wanted to either punch someone's teeth out, or burst into tears.

"When Pitch first appeared, he commanded a starship called the_ Nightmare Galleon_; he used it to go after the Tsar and Tsarina Lunanoff and their son...as well as attack the home planet of the Pookas."

Jack inhaled sharply and looked over at his surrogate brother. Bunny noticed Jack's concerned eyes and sniffed before smirking sadly at the young trickster and ruffling his hair.

"I'll tell ya some other time, Frostbite. Lets go find Nia and her Pop." Bunny urged, obviously wanting the attention off himself.

Find them, they did. The Pitchiners were gathered at the bottom of the officer gangplank - all five of them. In Eurybia's arms was a child of about three with thick, wavy raven hair that spilled over his brow and round, pewter gray eyes; the spitting image of his father. Kathy had grown spectacularly; even at ten years old, she was turning out just as majestic and elegant as her mother, though her porcelain cheeks were flushed in distress and running with tears. The 'why' quickly became clear.

Kozmotis was leaving.

He was dressed in his royal blue, white, and gold uniform with his spurred black leather, knee-high boots. His beautiful silver long sword was hanging from his hip, his medals glimmering on his chest. He was kneeling in front of his eldest child, cupping her chin in his black-gloved hand, his own eyes on the verge of tears.

"I know it's difficult, my heart. But you need to be strong now, Ekaterina, more than ever. Be good for your Mama and watch out for your brother and sister...I love you so much my starling." Kozmotis murmured, pulling the weeping girl into his arms in a tight, desperate embrace. Ekaterina sobbed and threw her arms around him, wailing into his shoulder.

"I love you, Daddy...I l-love you s-so m-much..." She whimpered. The broken expression on Kozmotis's face was enough to make even Bunny's breath hitch.

With visible effort, the General pulled away from his daughter and kissed her forehead and her cheeks.

"Be safe, my jewel." He begged, and stood. Kathy sobbed and turned to her mother, almost burrowing into her side. Eurybia wrapped an arm around the child and met her husband's eyes as he stroked her cheek. The tears she had been tying down for her children's' sakes broke free, streaming like crystals down her face.

She handed her young son to his sister and threw herself into her husband's arms, clutching him like she never wanted to let go. He did the same, weaving his fingers into her silky hair.

"Please, Kozmotis," She whispered desperately in his ear "take care of yourself. Come back to us, my love. Swear it - swear that you'll come back."

"I swear it, Yuri. I'll swear it a thousand times..." Kozmotis whispered back fervently, and then kissed his wife with a desperate passion. He knew it would be the last embrace they would share for a long time.

When they broke apart - so, so painfully - Kozmotis turned to his son, who gazed up at him with heart-broken starry eyes and reached up to his father, who complied immediately. The child latched onto his sire with arms and legs, nuzzling into his neck with little sniffles. Kozmotis hugged the child as tightly as he could, a single tear finally breaking through the strength he had tried to put up for his family.

"Don't go, Daddy," The child pleaded with a hiccup.

"Alecto, my son," Kozmotis rasped "I wish I could. But they need me out there to lead them; I'm doing this for you. So that you can grow in safety and have a bright and wonderful future. It is my duty to protect you and to protect the Empire..." He whispered to the boy, who only sobbed harder.

"I don't want you to go! I want you here!" Alecto wailed, clutching the pauldrons decorating his father's shoulders. Kozmotis stroked the head of raven hair to sooth the child.

"And I want to stay, my son. Don't worry, you'll barely know I'm gone - I'll be back so quick, you won't get a chance to miss me." Kozmotis assured him in a piteous lie with a smile that barely reached his eyes. Alecto seemed to take a bit of comfort from the statement at least. He sniffled and pulled back to look up at his father.

"R-really?"

"Yes. And when I'm back, I'll tell you all about everything I've seen and we'll go out to the mountains to ride, just like always. That's a promise...Be brave, my boy. Take care of Mama and your sisters. Can you promise me that?" He asked the little boy quietly, running his knuckles over one soft, flushed cheek. The child swallowed courageously and gave a watery smile with a nod before hugging the man he so clearly adored.

Alecto once more passed into his mother's arms, and then Kozmotis turned to his daughter with particularly mournful eyes.

At seven years old, Nia had grown very petite and sinewy but still graceful, her hair so tangled she couldn't do much more than tug half of it back in a ribbon. And her rebelliousness had grown as well, if her stance was anything to go by. She had stood off to the side the whole time, glaring at the cobbled street, arms wrapped around herself as tears rained down from her stormy eyes and splashed onto the pale blue silk of her skirt. Even when Kozmotis kneeled in front of her and tilted her chin up with his fingers, she didn't meet his eyes, though her chin wrinkled and her lip warbled; on the verge of sobbing.

Kozmotis wiped her flushed cheek tenderly.

"Verañia..." He murmured, but that was all he got out before Nia whimpered out,

"It's not fair." She whispered in a heart-broken voice.

The General sighed and drew her into his arms. The child hugged him fiercely and nuzzled into the familiar warmth of his neck, visibly holding down sobs. Her father stroked her hair and back, shushing her gently.

"I know, dearest. I am loath to leave you, but I must - it is my duty. One day you'll understand." He cupped her face in his hand and then touched the sunstone pinned to her neckline. "We are Pitchiners - oldest of the old. We are honor-bound to the Empire. Warriors' blood runs in our veins." He smiled at the child. "My little lioness...this war will be but a blink in our lives. You'll see. Be strong - remember: the blood of queens and knights is laced in your very name, my Verañia."

With a kiss on her forehead and a pained 'I love you', the General stood and ascended the gangplank, looking, in Nia's eyes, like a god mounting his war vessel as the solar sails unfurled and the_ Pegasus_ set off into the Star Seas.

The memory ended and then began anew, once again set at the Pitchiner manor, right outside the stables. But there wasn't a soul in sight, and the Guardians were still trying to recover from the heavily emotional goodbye they had witnessed between the General and his family.

From behind them came the sudden thundering of hooves and a gorgeous thoroughbred came galloping over the nearby hill, chestnut coat gleaming amber, tail intricately braided, mane secured in war knots. Seated on the gelding's back was a vision of young loveliness.

Now fourteen, Nia had begun to stretch and curve, the youthful sharpness of her hips and legs and her fierce expressions contrasting beautifully with her delicate thinness and doll-like features. Her mane of ringlets was loose and rippled on her back like ribbons of sunlight given substance. Her fine suede riding habit, and square-heeled boots were speckled in mud and debris. Her thick navy wool half-cloak had been saved from the harsh ride, the white mink fur collar rippling on her shoulders.

She slowed her horse to a walk with a few expert tugs on the reins and dismounted, patting the equine's flank with a satisfied sigh.

"Thataboy, Phoebus. C'mon, sweetheart, lets get you watered down and fed. We still have that awful ball of my sister's to survive tomorrow night..." Nia sneered with a mocking laugh. Jack couldn't help but feel enchanted by the sound. He saw much of the Nia he had met at the Pole, and yet...the ethereal young lady he was seeing here was different. There was a sadness that hovered in her eyes and the corners of her mouth, even as she spoke lovingly to her horse and brushed out his coat and untangled his mane and tail. After she was done cleaning his stable and had him set up with a feed bag, she set to polishing her saddle and tack. Jack suspected she was just hesitant to go back into her house if her now-somber expression was anything to go by as she gazed around the stables.

But then her eyes met with those of a magnificent stallion in the far corner. His mane and coat gleamed blue-black and he shook his head impatiently, as though waiting for her to approach him. Nia smiled the saddest smile any of them had ever seen on a child and walked up to the majestic stallion, stroking him lovingly; the thoroughbred nickered and leaned into the attention.

"Hello Hrafn," She murmured. "I'm sorry for ignoring you all this time, my friend. It's just...so hard to see you. You're so much like Dad. Heh, it's no wonder you don't let anyone ride you anymore. It feels empty without him, doesn't it? Six months and not a word...I'm worried, Hrafn - terrified. They've won, why hasn't he come home? Or written, or...anything?" She asked the horse, who could only nicker in comfort and sniff at her hair. The teen hugged the stallion as though she was trying to hug her father, burying her face in his silky mane so that none but him knew of her tears. She knew he wouldn't tell.

The girl was startled out of her moment when a young voice shrieked her name from outside the barn.

"Nia! Nia!" The ten-year-old shouted joyously as he careened into the stables and crashed into his sister's arms with an 'oomph!'

"Alec! What's gotten into you?!" Nia demanded as she steadied him. The child jumped up and down with a smile so big his face looked ready to rip in two.

"There's a carriage coming from the Port! It's Dad, I know it's him - I know it!"

Here Nia's face broke into a dazzling, whole-hearted smile that would've knocked a man clean on his back.

"Well come on then, let's go meet him! Oh, praise the stars!" Nia gasped, looking deliriously happy as she took her brother's wrist and sprinted out of the barn and towards the main house.

The kids tore through the kitchen and then the formal dining hall with the Guardians right on their tails. Nia and Alecto reached the foyer right as Kathy (seventeen and ridiculously gorgeous) came tearing down one of the grand twin staircases with an ecstatic cry.

"He's home! MAMA! _DAD'S HOME!_"

"Dad!"

"_Daddy!_"

The Pitchiner children practically ripped open the doors of the manor right as the carriage pulled up the lawn. Nia's heart flew...

And then fell in a violent fireball.

The man who stepped down from the carriage was definitely not Kozmotis. This stranger fell short of Lord Pitchiner's regalness and warmth. By a lot. He had dirty blond hair tied back neatly with a ribbon, and his coat was of the finest suede and gold silk embroidery and buttons. His features were hawk-like and brutal; his hazel eyes were like steel blades as they took in the Pitchiner children critically.

The Big Five bristled when his eyes lingered on Alecto just a few seconds too long. This did not the escape the kids' notice; Alecto clutched at Nia's arm and glued himself to her side while Ekaterina snaked an arm around her brother's shoulders and stood close.

Nia's eyes were like silver fire. She didn't bother to disguise her snarl; how dare that scum so much as glance at her little brother in such a despicable way?!

"Colonel Fhealltóir. What do you want?" Kathy demanded in a voice colder than Jack's best blizzards.

The Colonel smirked pleasantly at the three heirs.

"Can't an old family friend simply drop in to see you wonderful children and your lovely mother?" He cooed in a voice like oil and blood.

Something told the Guardians Fhealltóir was hardly a family 'friend'.

"You are not welcome in this house!" Nia barked, eyes blazing as she took a few threatening steps towards the Colonel. Kathy gripped her arm to stop her.

"Children,"

That single word, spoken with utmost authority, had the three turning to face their mother, who swept down the steps as regally as ever. Eurybia's shared look with Nia promised further discussion of her rudeness. The child clamped her lips together and settled for trying to dismember the Colonel with her glare.

The Guardians pretty much copied her.

"No-good, miserable drongo..." Bunny snarled, wanting to rip Fhealltóir's arms off and beat him with them. Tooth's feathers rippled in her anger and she clenched her hands into white-knuckled fists.

"How can she just let him come in like that, can't she see the type of scum he is?!" Shrieked the warrior queen through her teeth indignantly. Jack's voice was dangerously low when he growled,

"Some people are just that good at lying. No one sees the monster staring them in the face until it's too late..."

Eurybia led the Colonel to the lounge where they were served brunch. Kathy was forced to sit beside her mother and engage the slippery Colonel in 'pleasant' conversation. Meanwhile Alecto was (thankfully) ushered off to his governess and Nia was ordered to change into something "more suitable for the present company."

And Nia being Nia, the heiress came back with her hair loose and wet down her back in a plain olive green peasant dress with her sunstone gleaming proudly on her chest.

Eurybia fumed silently as her upstart offspring subtly slipped insults into her comments towards the Colonel, who was steadily losing his patience as Nia sipped daintily from her cup of unsugared Earl Grey. For once, Lady Pitchiner wished her daughter had not inherited her father's silvertongued ways and dangerous temper. The Guardians (and Kathy) snickered every time Nia outwitted the serpentine man; that is to say, every time he dared engage her in a battle of wits.

Finally, Fhealltóir asked Lady Pitchiner if he could speak with her in the study in private. At this, both the Guardians and Kathy and Nia went stiff. Nia locked eyes with her mother, silently begging her not to go, but Eurybia was much too angered with Nia's stubbornness to listen to a word she said.

When the doors to the study - their father's study - closed behind the adults, it was Kathy who exploded first.

"That scoundrel! Tha-that_ blackguard_! Conniving, double-faced, sniveling _vulture!_" She snarled towards the doors, raven locks flying, pouty lips drawn back from her shining teeth as she paced in a maelstrom of green silk. Nia's chest heaved with her agitated breaths, hands fisted in the fabric of her dress. Jack swore that the door would spontaneously combust from the sheer force of her stare.

"He's up to something. He wants something, I feel it in my bones." Nia hissed through her teeth. Kathy stopped her pacing, her layered midnight locks swishing around her as she looked at her sister with horrified eyes.

"Stars forbid...you don't think he wants to try and marry Mother?!"

"By the gods, Kathy! Don't invite such a curse into our own home - he'd rape us in our sleep the first chance he got! I'd rather run myself through than have that scheming bastard try to take my father's place in his own house!" Nia snarled in disgust, her whole body visibly cringing, she was so repulsed.

Before Kathy could retort in agreement, there was a cry of anguish from the study.

The sisters froze for just a half second before they were at the door and upon finding it locked, pressed their ears to the wood.

"No, no, it can't be! How can he be missing?!" Eurybia wailed. Kathy gasped in horror and Nia stiffened; there was only one 'he' their mother could be referring to.

"I'm afraid so, dear Eurybia," Came the Colonel's sickly sweet reply of sympathy. "The prison was empty and Kozmotis had vanished from his post by the time the squadron arrived. I'm afraid this is all we found."

There was a long pause, and then the quiet sound of Eurybia's suppressed sobs.

"But, I'm afraid that is not all," Fhealltóir continued with that same false sympathy.

"Khiaran, what more could there be?" Sobbed Lady Pitchiner.

The girls shared a look of horrified despair.

"We have reports of Fearlings once again attacking outer Constellations."

"Great stars..."

"A ship has also been sighted - leading and directing the attacks. The survivors described it as Selenian in design. When they described the captain of the hellish vessel, well..."

"Who was it? Tell me Khiaran!" Eurybia pleaded. There was another long silence. Kathy was deathly pale; her hands shook and tears welled up in her white-ringed eyes. Nia didn't dare take so much as a breath. Her whole body trembled.

"He calls himself Pitch Black. And...and he wears the face of Kozmotis Pitchiner."

The penetrating silence that followed was strangely thunderous. It was like a bomb had gone off, leaving the two sisters deaf and blind to everything.

Nia fainted at the same time that Eurybia wailed in agony.

When the memories melted away in their white-red flash and reappeared, the house the five Guardians found themselves in was very different. The walls were bleak and not nearly as ornate and welcoming. Everything was very bland and practical. Plus, the walls seemed thick - possibly reinforced. The iron bars and heavy lead shutters that flanked the small windows said as much. The hallway they now found themselves in was dimly lit by small oil lamps mounted on the walls at regular intervals.

The whole place was nauseatingly depressing.

"What the- no. There is no way Nia would ever live here; she'd go out of her mind!" Bunny objected in total denial they looked up and down the hallway, searching for some noise or motion.

"Wait a second...this is Earth." Tooth suddenly murmured in surprise as she flitted to a window. Her comment earned her some fairly strange looks from her comrades.

"Uh, da...? We have known that for a while now, Toothy, we were not confused." North said slowly as he eyed the fairy with a good amount of concern.

The plumed queen huffed and rolled her eyes. "No, North, I mean- Okay. The memories we've been seeing up til now? They didn't take place on our Earth! They probably took place on some other inhabited planet a billion miles away. By this point, Nia's come to Earth with her family, which must mean..." She trailed off, and Bunny picked up the sentence with ease.

"We're getting close to her death."

As if on cue, Nia herself, now sixteen - the age Bunny knew her to be stuck at - came walking down the hallway, soaking wet. A beautiful silver sword hung on her hip, though it seemed to be too big for her; it's tip nearly touched her ankle. Her hair was falling out of it's half-hearted ribbon into her eyes.

Jack's heart jumped into his throat when he saw her eyes. He may as well have locked gazes with a corpse.

The once fiery, vivacious orbs of starry pewter were now dull as river rocks with heavy bags of lost sleep and sorrow beneath them.

"Oh, Sparky..." Bunny moaned in horror. This poor waif was not his little sister - she couldn't be! Where was the swagger to her walk, the confidence in her chin, the color in her cheeks and the raw, wild life in her eyes?

But the miserable child of the memory simply walked through them and continued on her way, dripping on the floors.

The grief-struck Guardians followed her to a den where Alecto - twelve (thirteen, in a week) and looking more like his father every day - was sitting cross-legged and barefoot in front of a warm fire with a children's book in his hands. The young boy looked up at his sister as she sloshed in and threw her sword and boots off to the side, smiling warmly at her, though his silvery eyes remained pained. Nia's answering smile brought a bit of life back to her eyes, but it seemed that not even her beloved brother could sweep away the crippling sadness that now plagued her.

"Hey, Ni-ni,"

"Hey, Leck."

"You get caught in the rain again?" He asked as she grabbed a throw and wrapped it around herself before sitting next to him.

"Yeah. Watcha got there, little one?" She asked, pulling him into her side. The child leaned his head on her shoulder, not minding her wet hair, and showed her the story book.

"Remember when he used to read this to us?" He murmured, touching the beautiful illustration on the page. Nia smiled that awful, sad smile again.

"Mhm..." She hummed.

There was silence for a long time, the siblings simply basking in each other's company and familiar warmth. Then Nia spoke reluctantly.

"They spotted him again."

"...How close to the Clipper?"

"Too close. They think he's looking for us."

"But why would he? He doesn't even remember us." Alecto spat. His voice broke as his eyes filled with tears. Nia's eyes clenched shut and she hugged the younger boy tightly.

"I know...but we've got to remember that it's not his fault. None of it is his fault. He doesn't know what he's doing - our dad would never do what that beast has done."

Alecto buried his face in her shoulder and sniffled.

"I wish he'd never left..." He whispered. Tears leaked out of Nia's eyes, catching the firelight so that it looked like she was crying pure amber.

"I know...I wish no one ever had to leave...It'd save an awful lot of trouble." She murmured as she carded her fingers through her brother's thick raven waves of hair. No matter how much she swept it back, his stubborn cowlick continued to flop over his forehead adorably.

"You know what I just hate about this stupid planet?" Alecto muttered with a twist of his lips. Nia's mouth lifted in a bemused grin.

"Besides the infuriatingly heavy air and ridiculously short orbit?" She quipped, and Jack made a mental note to ask her what she meant by that later.

Alecto snorted. "Well yeah, besides that. What I hate the most is...we can't hear the stars anymore."

Nia's fingers stilled for a moment as the Guardians shared questioning looks. Except for Sandy. He pressed his fist to his mouth, eyes wide, mind racing. He had only heard rumours of children like this, but if they really were...He swore to himself that he would have a long, long chat with the Huntress about this.

Nia sighed and kissed her brother's head.

"Yeah...I hate that the most, too."

The transporting light flashed again.

This time, it was nighttime. The lead shutters had been chained shut and there wasn't a sound to be heard throughout the house. Jack swallowed and gripped his staff in both hands nervously. Sandy and North stood back to back, and Tooth's feathers ruffled nervously as Jack and Bunny sidled closer to her.

"Something iz wrong." North murmured, fingers wishing to clench around the hilts of his scimitars. The silence that pierced the house was unnatural - like the very walls were holding their breath.

Finally, a sign of life.

Eurybia, looking weighed by the years of sorrow and fear, her thick hair streaming all the way down her back, dressed in a black shirt, pants, and boots, her eyes fierce, a sword at her hip, came around the corner. There was a man with her, a guard, armed with a crossbow.

"Lady Pitchiner, this is not safe, you should-" The guard tried to reason, only to be cut off by Eurybia.

"That imposter was after my children long before he killed the Tsar. Now he's hunting the Tsarina and Tsarevich. But I will see all the galaxies burn a thousand times before he lays a hand on my family." She hissed, blue eyes burning cyan. "Make sure all the guards are at their posts and armed - not one Fearling gets near this house. Get my children into the cellar." She ordered as fiercely as though she, too, were a general. The guard nodded and set about complying with her orders.

And who should overhear the entire conversation but Nia? Yup - she'd heard every word, hidden behind the corner of the wall. She was white-lipped and shaking with fury. Her pewter eyes seem to flare back to life with a vengeance; the rage came off of her like a star going supernova.

"This ends tonight." She hissed dangerously. She could tolerate plenty of things, a lot of things - her father had taught her to be open-minded - but this went past simply toeing the line. This impostor wasn't just siding with Fearlings, the way he'd started out. He had murdered the Tsar. He was hunting the Tsarina and her little boy as though they were animals!

_Let him come_, she thought as vengeance simmered in her blood and finally revived the fire of her heart. She would avenge them all; every life taken, every star and song extinguished by this usurping darkness, every_ single stolen soul_ would be repaid tonight. She would bring justice to her family, to her people, her empire, to her Tsarina and Tsarevich, to her Tsar, may he shine bright amongst the stars, and, most of all, to her father, who had given up his life to protect them all...

The Guardians were right on her tail as she tore through the halls, her thin white nightgown streaming behind her, turning her in an ethereal, ghostly vision. Up a staircase she went and down another hall until she threw open the doors of a bedroom. Inside, Ekaterina and Alecto were huddled at the window, having forced it open, peering into the Stygian night.

"He's coming." Nia said simply, her eyes piercing the darkness like stars. Her siblings' eyes widened in instant understanding and jumping to their feet, sprinting out into the halls, their destination as of yet unclear. But eventually, they made it into a desolate hallway, at the end of which was a pair of padlocked doors carved with images of charging war horses.

Kathy kneeled in front of the lock and thick chains with a pair of powerful bolt cutters. It took all three of them several tries to bite through the chains, but they finally clanked to the floor, and without further ado, Kathy threw open the doors to reveal a room of pure death.

It actually looked a bit like the weapons' vault tucked on one of the lower levels of North's workshop. But that particular room was stocked with weapons made specifically for the brute strength and size of the Yetis. This room was stocked for trained soldiers.

Every weapon was sorted by type, each arm totally unique in some way or another. Bows, long and recurve, hung from nails next to the crossbows and the javelins in the oversized vase and the spears on the wall. There was a locked display case of odd-looking rifles, sniper scopes, and bayonets - as in, different from any they'd ever encountered on earth - as well as grappling hooks and grenades and various explosives. Including C4. On the West wall were the maces, morningstars, axes, hatchets, and bo staffs and lances. Wouldn't you know it, they even had boomerangs, albeit made of steel with serrated edges and leather grips (Sandy swore Bunny started drooling a bit when he caught sight of those.) Piles of ammunition and projectiles were everywhere - everything from whole barrels of poison-tipped arrows to cannon balls, to crates of buckshot, and magazines and long ammo belts, the kind you fed to a machine gun. Covered by a tarp in the corner was a pyramid of rockets with the matching RPG launcher on a tripod beside it. Jack swore he spotted something that resembled a bazooka behind the table in the middle of the room, on which was laid out a huge collection of knives, from stilettos to Bowie-sized and even machetes and throwing knives. Swords of every size and design, from simple and practical to seriously gaudy and obviously ceremonial, hung from the sides of the table from leather hooks, and North and, disturbingly, Tooth, were looking a little starry-eyed at those.

"Shostakovich, what I'd give to have dis in de workshop!" Murmured Saint Nick in obvious admiration.

"No way do they actually know how to use all of this," Jack gasped as he tried to take in the sheer amount of _sharpfierydanger!_ of the room. He'd seen military bases with less weaponry!

"I'd hate to break it ta ya, Frostbite, but I've seen Nia use like half of this stuff." Bunny informed him.

The Pitchiner children drew the Guardians' attention once more as they bustled around the armory, gathering weapons and piling them neatly by the back wall, where five weapons in particular were arranged like a shrine to a pagan god.

Two glorious war scythes, gold with ornate, jagged blades, crossed each other, the heads facing opposite directions. Set between them was a mounted shield of gold, royal blue, and silver runes and symbols including the Lunanoff crest, behind which was nailed a very familiar silver longsword. On a stand on the mantle was a beautiful double recurve bow. Obviously hand-carved with a lot of love and dedication with a red-brown leather-bound grip with small gold caps supporting the string.

They were the weapons of the fallen General, Kozmotis Pitchiner.

Ekaterina was quickly arming herself with an elegant rapier, a javelin, a flintlock pistol, and a pair of enormous hunting knives on her thighs. She selected a miniature crossbow from the wall, buckling it to her arm along with a small quiver of poisoned darts.

Alecto was taking similar arms, with two daggers hanging on his hips with another at his thigh and opposite calf. He selected an ebony and silver-plated rifle with pump action and laser-guided sniper scope. He strapped this to his chest along with a belt of radium bullet cartridges.

Nia, for her own part, was taking the phrase 'be prepared' to the extreme. She'd tied a real actual utility belt around her hips and was stocking it with flashbang grenades, throwing knives, and what looked suspiciously like cherry bombs. Huge hunting knives similar to Kathy's hung from both her thighs, and there was a smaller dagger concealed on her calf. A longsword hung elegantly from her left hip, and there was a hatchet slung across her back. Then she paused, and fingered the strap of a quiver of poisoned arrows, chewing her lip with indecisiveness. She looked up at the elegant bow on the mantle, remembering the sight of it in her father's hands, fluid, natural, perfect. He had been the marksman of the house, not her; he could split an apple clean in half from 200 paces. She could barely get close center at ten!

But the bow just seemed to call to her. Some instinct deep inside her told her that bow needed to be in her hands tonight.

Nia's starry eyes flared like liquid mercury as she made her decision and reverently took the bow from its stand, slinging it across her chest. A full quiver took its place on her right hip.

When she turned back to her siblings, Kathy was unlocking a compartment in the hollow leg of the knife table and extracting a small box from within. She wordlessly handed each of them a small white pellet and kept one for herself, slipping it into the wrist of her nightgown. They made no face, gave no reaction; they knew for a fact their mother carried similar pills.

"What are those things?" Jack asked as the three teens stashed away the pellets.

Bunny looked at him sadly and then gestured to the three children arming themselves for war.

"After all they've been through, they've pretty much got nothin' left to lose, Jack. You really think they'd let themselves get taken alive?"

It took a second for that to sink in, but when it did, Jack gasped and looked at the Pitchiner heirs in horror.

But before anyone could say anything, a tremor shook the entire house right down to the foundation. The weapons and piles of ammo shivered precariously. The siblings stood stock still for a moment before they all looked at each other, saying with their eyes and amazingly genuine smiles what mere words could never convey.

"I love you guys. No matter what." Alecto whispered. His sisters wasted no time in embracing him and each other, murmuring their final 'I love you's and farewells.

Then they all took one last look at each other and took up their arms, slipping into the hall.

Kathy took spearpoint, with Alecto glued to her left flank and Nia covering the rear. The house was entirely too quiet; the lamps had been shattered and doused, casting thick shadows over almost everything.

"Do you think they're in yet?" Alecto whispered.

A bloodcurdling scream was his answer. They took off down the halls, still covering each other's positions.

When they reached the banister overlooking the parlor, they were just in time to see the doors get blown wide open, the splinters impaling several of the guards that had been defending their house thus far.

Living shadows with white hollows for eyes and leering, white-fanged smiles writhed over the walls and floors, some climbing up to the ceiling and slashing at the chandelier chain with nightmarish claws, sending the crystalline death trap crashing down to the floor. Some engaged the guards, and still others went tearing through the house, overturning everything and leaving it in shreds. As though looking for something.

Nia snapped out of her shock, and thought fast, nocking an arrow into her father's bow, letting the poisoned projectile fly and barely hitting a Fearling that was slithering up the wall towards them. The creature shrieked gruesomely and writhed in its death throes before dissipating in a burst of oily black smoke.

"Drive them back!" Nia shrieked as another managed to get over the banister. She drew her stiletto and stabbed the shadow before it could get a hold of her.

Alecto pumped his rifle before snapping on the scope and setting up a nest right on the banister. Being blessed with his father's hawk eyes, he was shooting down Fearlings left and right with the explosive radium bullets like nobody's business.

Kathy took up her rapier and pistol, stabbing through walls and across floors to get at the Fearlings. With her and Nia covering Alecto, they managed to keep the shadows from breaching the upper levels. And then Eurybia arrived.

She kicked an hissing Fearling away from her leg, crushing its head under her boot with a snarl, and stabbed two others with her sword and dagger at the same time. She was covered in the black oil of the dead shadows. When she caught sight of her three children giving hell from the second story, she grinned slightly and shook her head.

"You're your father's children alright," She shouted as she joined the surviving guards in the fray. Alecto had the cheekiness to wave as he sniped.

"Hi Mama!"

"Leck! Twelve o'clock!" Kathy shouted as she threw a knife and impaled three Fearlings at once.

Alecto set his sights where his sister indicated, only to stop cold.

"What the hell..."

The Fearlings suddenly all stopped and regrouped, giggling in mad delight, much to the disgust of the Pitchiners, and then amassed into one enormous pool of pitch black shadow at what was once the front door. A terrible darkness descended over the house as the pool became an expanding blanket, blocking every window and barely letting in the faintest of silvery moonlight.

A voice accompanied by those same teeth-rattling tremors seemed to rumble across the walls and in the ground. It was all velvet and dark chocolate, and horribly, impossibly familiar.

**_"Knock, knock, my darlings..."_**

Nia's heart jumped into the back of her throat. Alecto's gun slipped out of his numb fingers and Kathy turned a sickly milk white. Beneath the banister, Eurybia and a grand total of seven still-living guards reconvened, pressing their backs to the wall, weapons leveled. Lady Pitchiner bit down a scream as a cruel doppelganger seemed to melt out of the rising wall of shadow.

Nia choked on her breath; the urge to shriek in horror and denial clouded her mind a haze of white panic.

There he was. Smiling for all the world as though he was being welcomed with open arms into his house. Still handsome, still regal, still every inch the commanding, powerful presence that had raised them. But to say that this ghoul was her father was like saying that the sun could be covered with but a finger. This was not Lord Kozmotis Pitchiner.

This was the Nightmare King: Pitch Black.

The smile that had once been warm and loving was now a smirk of cold amusement at his own cruelty, all leers and sharp, gleaming teeth. His tan skin had been leached a deathly ash gray, and his bones seemed to be straining through his skin in a gaunt, sharp desecration of her father's features.

The most awful change, though, had to be his eyes.

Piercing, starry pewter had been replaced with an eclipsed iris of cold titanium and burning sulphur, digging like rusted hooks into her soul, dragging it down to be devoured by the black hole of his own emptiness.

And for another thing (and because Nia's thoughts were incurably sarcastic), her dad would never even think of wearing so much leather and mesh. Trashy, much?

He clapped with spidery, skeletal hands as he strode forward, smirking in amusement.

**_"Well done, my little stars. It appears I've taught you well, to have lasted this long against my pets."_**

Kathy swallowed as he looked right at them, backing away from the rail, one hand gripping Nia, the other Alecto.

"You will not touch them." Eurybia whispered in a fierce snarl as she aimed her sword at the ghost of her husband. Her heart and her mind were at war with each other; one screamed for her love, the other howled to spill the blood of the murderer.

Pitch shifted his gaze to her, eyes flashing poisonous yellow.

_**"Eurybia,"**_ he purred **_"my love...What's the matter? Afraid of your dearest husband?"_** He taunted, chuckling in glee as Eurybia's eyes swam with pain and outrage.

"Afraid of my husband? Never. My husband is dead. And you shall pay for his blood with every drop of your own."

Lady Pitchiner lunged with a war cry, her guards charging right behind her. Nia and her siblings shrieked in horror and practically leaned over the banister as the doppelganger of their father formed a scythe of pure shadows and swung it with his familiar dexterity at their mother.

Eurybia, who had watched her husband practice in his training room since before they were married, knew enough of his style and skill to stand a chance. She rolled under the blade and continued to sprint at Pitch.

The guards, however, did not. Half of them were cut clean in two, their blood splattering all over the room. Specks of it splashed against the siblings, staining their clothes and pale faces. Alecto gasped in horror and hid his face in Kathy's shoulder. As Lady Pitchiner continued to shove her way through the melee, more guards were cut down left and right like weeds, their blood slicking the tiled floor.

Eurybia reached Pitch. Her blade flashed like quicksilver as it clashed against the scythe. The weapons trembled from the force of their wielders; Eurybia felt the imposter's breath against her face as they stood toe to toe, their eyes locked in a silent battle of wills. She saw nothing of her husband in those eclipsed wells of sulphur and evil. His warmth, his love, that great joy for life that she fallen in love with, all of it, gone. Extinguished. It fueled her rage - the thought that this demon had stolen her love's skin and had used it to destroy everything he had loved and defended with his life. She remembered when the first signs of the encroaching shadows began to slither into their home planet. The sun had seemed to dim, and all the color of the world had slowly been leeched to pale, shriveled husks of former brilliance. The whispers of the High Court had been nothing short of scandalous: "The great Pitchiners, finally fallen from grace," "Imagine that, the great General turned traitor against his own empire," "He'll be coming after his own children, you know, the two youngest. They're star children, after all..."

Not if she could help it.

She snapped her head forward to ram her forehead into the imposter's with a great crack! He fell back with a snarl of pain but immediately swung the scythe at her once more. A guard blindsided him from the left just as she ducked and ended up taking the hit for her; the ebony blade pierced his heart and came out of his back. The demon tisked in disgust and flung the body off his weapon, then turned to Eurybia.

**_"You are testing my patience, dearest."_** He warned in his rumbling voice. Eurybia spat at his feet.

"Go to hell!"

He threw his head back and laughed, the warm, whole-hearted chuckle of old now a roar of cold wickedness._** "Haven't you heard? That's where I came from!"**_

And then his chest sprouted fletching.

Eurybia gasped when she felt the breeze of the arrow rocketing inches from her head, and so did Nia, for that matter. She hadn't expected to hit him there; she'd actually been aiming for his hands, to make him drop the scythe and give her mother an opening.

Pitch blinked down at the arrow piercing his heart, then scowled up at Nia. The girl shuddered; her father had never looked at her with such eyes.

_**"A fine shot, little one."**_ He purred, and then grunted as he simply extracted the projectile and dropped it to the floor with a splash of tar-like blood. **_"But it takes more than that to kill Fear."_**

Nia gagged in horror and repugnance, the bow shaking in her white-knuckled grip.

"Children, run!" Eurybia shrieked as she swung at Pitch. He blocked her sword near-effortlessly.

_**"No matter what you do!"**_

A swing. Eurybia barely blocked.

_**"No matter where you hide!"**_

A parry. A slice. Blood spurted from Eurybia's leg.

_**"No matter how far you run!"**_

A crack. A scream. Eurybia's twisted arm dropped her sword. A cold hand circled her throat and lifted her up. She stared into a leer of sharp white and a gaze of triumphant sulphur and steel.

_**"I WILL FIND YOU!"**_

SHHHRRK!

There are few things more horrible and terrifying than the sight of one's mother, the being that gave us life and loved us, protected us and taught us, defenseless and defeated.

Except, perhaps, to see her murdered.

And this, precisely, is what the Pitchiner children saw.

The black blade of the scythe erupted from the back of Eurybia's abdomen, dripping in the rich crimson of her blood. Completing the blasphemous, impossible scene was the Nightmare King, his armor glinting gold and silver under the scarlet of stolen lives. A ghastly smile, that of a predator with his prey in his claws, highlighted his face.

Nia was numb. It was like all the universe had so far been a mirror, one that had cracked, day by day, breath by breath. Tragedy by tragedy had splintered the gilded life of her family until one final strike now shattered all they knew around them. First they were heirs. Then, pariahs. Then, fugitives. Now...orphans.

She could not have said with certainty if she had screamed. All she was aware of was her sister's hand dragging her away. The pounding of blood in her veins. She felt the velvety leather grip of the bow in her hand.

Right before Kathy hauled her away from the death-strewn scene, the eyes of her mother's killer met with hers. Pewter and sulphur; the past and the present.

And then they ran.

Pitch smiled as the three children fled. He remembered them, vaguely. What stood out the most in his memory was two words, two simple little words that applied to the two youngest. Those were the ones he needed.

The star children.

He smiled at Eurybia, who against all odds, was still fighting to keep her beautiful blue eyes open as she hung on the end of his blade. A trail of crimson slid from the corner of her paled mouth.

"Koz...motis..." She whispered, and a tear of diamond trailed down her cheek.

With a single breath, her eyes closed forever.

Pitch frowned slightly, and laid her body in the entrance of the house, tilting his head curiously at her beautiful face. Even in death, she was the elegant, strong-willed daughter of the Golden Age that he had married in his youth.

Not that he remembered her quite so lovingly.

Meanwhile, the Pitchiner children were running for their lives.

They'd made it down to the kitchens. Out of nowhere, a shadow came shooting out of a corner and wrapped itself around Kathy's ankle, dragging her to the floor with a scream.

"_NO!_" Nia shrieked, diving for her sister's hand. But the shadow - a stupid shadow - was stronger than both of them. They were both dragged back towards the foyer, towards Pitch, until Nia grabbed hold of a threshold and Alecto managed to wrap his arms around her waist. The shadow dug insistently into Kathy's ankle, cutting off her circulation and squeezing her bones near breaking. She howled in pain, but looked up at Nia and Alecto resigned, welling eyes.

"N-Nia," She gasped through her pain as the coil of darkness wound itself around her calf.

"Just hold on Kathy - don't let go! Don't you dare let me go!" Nia shrieked, digging her nails into her sister's wrist. She heaved with all her strength, and Alecto sobbed as he, too, pulled with everything he had.

And then Kathy laughed. A desperate, sad giggle.

"Take care of each other. Love you, guys."

And then she let go.

"NOOO!" Nia and Alecto wailed as their sister was dragged into the darkness. But she didn't utter a single scream.

Chest heaving with labored breath, eyes blinded by tears, heart crumbled to dust, Nia somehow summoned strength from somewhere and hauled Alecto to his feet. They burst through the back door and made for the stables at a mad sprint.

In the foyer of the house, Pitch Black scowled down at the body of Ekaterina Pitchiner. She was dead by the time the shadows had dragged her to him, her heart frozen by the quick action of the cyanide pill she had hidden in her sleeve.

Nia saddled Phoebus quicker than she ever had in her life. They were ready to go within thirty seconds. Before fleeing, though, she went back and opened the stables, screaming and waving her arms to spook all the horses into running away into the night. Hrafn was the only one who hesitated, shaking his head stubbornly, but a firm slap to his haunch got him going, and Nia vaulted onto Phoebus's back, pulling Alecto up to sit behind her.

Nia only allowed her optimism to peek through when they reached the tree line at full gallop. She had no idea where to go or how they would survive or for long they could hide. But she'd be damned if she didn't get her brother to safety. Now, that looked like a possibility.

But all those hopes crashed down when Alecto was ripped right out of the seat.

_"LECK!_" She screamed in horror and yanked Phoebus to a dead stop, urging him into a turn and back into a full gallop as Alecto was carried away by giggling, hissing Fearlings back towards the house. He bucked, screamed, and writhed to escape their grasp, panic almost clogging his lungs as he screamed for Nia.

Suddenly he was roughly deposited in black-clad, grey-skinned arms that held him in an asphyxiating embrace; a mockery of tenderness.

Phoebus's hooves gouged into the dirt as he stopped, neighing in a panic and reared, throwing Nia off of his back before fleeing. Nia quickly recovered and drew the bow she had slung across her chest.

She stiffened when she saw her brother in the Nightmare King's arms, tucked into his side, one clawed hand combing softly through his hair, the other digging into his shoulder to keep him where he was. Alecto's bright pewter eyes were ringed in white in his panic and brimming with desperate tears. He cringed against hands that he had once welcomed in childhood.

Without hesitation, she nocked an arrow and aimed at Pitch.

"Let - him - go."

The Boogeyman chuckled in amusement and practically yanked at Alecto's hair. The boy whimpered and shrank against Pitch's side. Nia snarled and drew the arrow tighter threateningly.

**_"And just why should I do that, dear one?"_** He said in a mocking coo. **_"You two are all that stand between me and my absolute conquest."_**

"You let him go or I swear I'll tear you to pieces!" The girl snarled; it was not an empty threat. She had just seen her mother murdered. Her sister had ended her own life. Now the last of her family was in the hands of the man who had single-handedly destroyed the Constellations, killed her family, stolen her father's life, and now threatened her brother!

Pitch leered at her, his claws brushing over Alecto's cheek, making him shiver at the sensation.

**_"Such a brave little star. Won't you join me, Verañia? You would make such a lovely Princess at my side..."_** He purred, and his voice was so gentle and encouraging, she could almost believe it really was her father speaking to her.

Except for that too-eager gleam in his eyes.

Fed up, she let the arrow fly.

With humanly-impossible reflexes,Pitch swiped the arrow out of the air as it rocketed towards him. He regarded the poisoned head with a supremely unimpressed look before turning his eyes towards Nia. She already had another arrow on the string. His own sulphuric eyes narrowed.

**_"Very well...kill her."_**

And then a veritable wall of shadow rose up behind him, cresting over Nia's head like a tsunami of pure fear and darkness.

The child's breath practically stopped. The pure terror was evident in her beautiful starlight eyes. She knew it: this was the end.

The last thing she heard before the rush of Fearlings swallowed her alive was her brother, screaming her name.

Everything went black.

The Guardians, who had watched the massacre in silent horror, the course of the memories dragging them along, felt an earth-shaking jolt. They screamed and fell to their knees as the planet seemed to drop from under their feet. They felt a sickening churning in their stomachs, a sudden migraine gripping their skulls. There was the disorienting sensation of gravity releasing its hold on them, rendering them weightless and without direction. There was no sight, no sound, not even up or down. Until a familiar voice pierced the nothingness and echoed all around them.

_"Calm down. It'll come back in a minute."_

"N-Nia? What's goin' on?!" Bunny gasped out, curled in a tense ball as he grasped Tooth's hand and kept Jack glued firmly to his side.

_"Star coffins are meant to hold life, not death. This is where I was before I was brought back. Just give it a second."_

True to Nia's word, gravity once again grasped them and anchored them. There was a rush of that same spicey breeze and suddenly ash exploded all around them.

The Five coughed against the sudden smog, waving their arms to clear the air. When the ashes finally settled, they paled when they saw that they were standing in the pyre of the Pitchiner house.

The whole structure had been burned to the ground. Not even the wrought iron staircase had survived. The unrecognizable wreckage lay strewn everywhere, the silence deafening in its absolution. Jack looked around in dumbstruck shock. Bunny was frozen on the spot, and Tooth was grasping his paw as she fluttered nervously.

"Where iz Nia?" North murmured, just as appalled by the scene. Bunny shook his head.

"Ah...I don' know..."

As he scanned the ruins of the house, Sandy spotted something shifting at the very border of the ashes. He tugged urgently on North's pant leg, pointing towards the slight movement. As soon as the others spotted it, they raced towards it, tripping over the debris poking out of the ashes.

They reached the edge of the field just in time to witness Nia herself rise out of the ashes, gasping desperately for breath. She coughed violently for several moments, caked in ashes, her nightgown clinging to her in rags and threads. Amazingly, the sunstone pin she had worn to the very last moment of her life still clung to the shredded lace neck of the gown. She was still Verañia Pitchiner, but she looked different; her cornsilk blonde ringlets had turned the rich auburn Jack had met her with, and her porcelain skin had darkened to a sultry, silky russet. When she opened her eyes, her tears glowing like liquid amber and tracing paths down her ash-smeared cheeks, the orbs of starlit pewter were now a piercing dusk-gold with a starburst of bright, vivacious green around the pupils.

The reborn Huntress looked around at the ashes of her house in panicked confusion; she was obviously disoriented and terrified. Jack could sympathize completely.

The child struggled to her feet. She continued scanning her surroundings, and then did a double take. The Guardians followed her gaze to a tree on the farthest corner of the field. There, stabbed into the ground, was a bow. Not just any bow; the bow she had held in the last moments of her mortal life. But it was vastly different: the small gold caps had lengthened and sharpened into beautiful, dangerous curves, giving the instrument a fluid, elegant line. Gold rays were now painted onto the rich red mahogany, and hammered onto the curves were intricate floral spirals of bronze filigree. Within these winked tiny jewels: amethysts, pink diamonds, peridots, rubies, and sapphires.

A weapon fit for a Spirit.

Nia made her way towards the bow cautiously. Her whole body was tense and trembling, though the night was hardly cold. She picked her way across the field of ashes and destruction until she reached the weapon that seemed to thrum impatiently, waiting for its mistress to grasp it at last.

When she finally did take it up, Nia's whole body gave a shiver before relaxing once and for all. She examined the jewelled bow with scrutiny, tracing the polished filigree and the strong varnished wood. As she did this, her head suddenly snapped up and towards the moon. Her brows furrowed in confusion, but then smoothed over, understanding blooming in her eyes.

Jack could easily imagine what she was hearing.

_You are Verañia Bloom - the Keeper of the Wilds._

**Ain't I a stinker?**

**Seriously, I kept waiting for Pitch to pop out from under my bed and start yelling at me for doing this to him. And his kids...not to mention his wife...**

**Anyway, pretty pretty pleeeeease review and stay tuned for chapter five, in which we will have a few misunderstandings! ;D**

**Love y'all!**


	5. Olive Branch (Sort Of)

**Gahhh, for some reason I feel like this took me way too long to write. And that the plot is moving impossibly slow. Grrrr... But fear not! There WILL be action in the next chapter. Which I WILL begin working on! (As soon as I get some sleep, it's like one in the morning here)**

**Reviews:**

**Xion5: Your wish is my command! Lol, I'm starting to love your reviews, they make my day :)**

**TwixyReitz: Your praise utterly humbles me, my dear. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. As for Sandy's tete-a-tete with Nia, I'm afraid that will be in another one or two chapters. **

**yatogirl: Thank you!**

**And a shout-out to Pyro Loves Ice for favoriting!**

**Disclaimer: Only in my dreams. My rabid,obsessing fan girl dreams...**

Chapter 5: Olive Branch (Sort Of)

Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

..:oOo:..

When the memories released them, the Guardians blinked and stumbled in dizziness from the violent change. Jack leaned heavily on his crook while Tooth and Sandy had to touch down from the vertigo and Bunny sank to his haunches, shivering.

North pinched the bridge of his nose as he gripped the back of a chair. "Сладкий луна...все это время..."

And then Nia was there, helping Bunny to his feet, anxiety clear in her eyes. The Pooka took one look at the teen and practically crushed her in a hug.

"Ah'm sorry, ah'm _so sorry_, Sparks. If...if aida known-" Bunny said, his accent thick in his distress. The warrior was appalled that he had dared insult, even reject, the girl he saw as his little sister. He'd outright called her a liar and a traitor when she'd been telling the truth to try to help her father. And after seeing everything she'd had to live through, everything she had lost...He would have wrung his own neck if she so asked.

But - to Bunny's great relief - the kid just hugged him back as hard as she could and tucked her head under his chin, burrowing into his chest fur.

"Oh, Bunny, no - don't do that, I'm okay. It was a long time ago, I'm fine." She assured, but Bunny shook his head fervently.

"Naw, sheila - s'not jus' that. I shuddna said all those things 'bout you or yer dad. Forgive me, Sparky?" He begged, pressing his forehead to hers. Nia's eyes filled with her strange amber tears and she pressed her nose to his in a butterfly kiss.

"Of course, Bun-Bun." She crooned tenderly. Bunnymund smiled in grateful relief and nuzzled her temple, thanking his lucky stars that Nia was so forgiving. After seeing her death...damn it all, he'd be dragged to hell by the ears before he let anything happen to his little sis ever again.

Sandy, North, and Tooth were in outright shock. To think that all this time, the spirit they had taken for a soulless monster was just a man who had given up everything for those he loved and ended up bound and gagged within the confines of his own mind while his body was maneuvered like a puppet and his family was torn apart. It was a sickening feeling; guilt, sympathy, fury for such an injustice, all rolled into one.

As for Jack, he met Nia's eyes, his own now filled with understanding. She had died trying to save someone she loved, just as he had. If, like she said, there was a chance to save her father from fading away, then he would help her. Moon knows, he'd be fighting like hell if he ever got a chance to get his sister back. She deserved to at least have her father; she'd lost everyone else.

"For what it's worth...I'm sorry." He said as sincerely as possible. The Huntress' eyes bore into his, shining with the raw, penetrating power of the earth itself. He felt a plume of heat run ghostly fingers down his neck and he shivered. Finally, she nodded at him, accepting the apology. She could tell that besides his physical appeal, he had a clear head on his shoulders and a good heart.

Then, she turned to look at the others in cautious hope.

"Well...you've seen my proof. Will you help me?" She asked with the disarming simplicity of a child, her eyes full of faith.

Tooth's eyes watered. She remembered the pain of losing her own parents all those years ago; even today, she knew she would give anything to get them back. And dammit all, she was a Guardian! Who was she to deny this child what she so clearly needed? What she deserved?

She flew up to Nia and placed her hands on the teen's shoulders with a soft smile.

"Of _course _we will, Nia."

The words were a heavenly choir to the child's ears. Her heart seemed to trip over itself in her excitement. This was...gods, they could never understand what they had just given her. They were offering to help save her father - to save the only person she had left in the world. Her eyes stung and watered with her amber tears, and before she could stop herself, she threw her arms around Toothiana in a hug that poured out every drop of her gratitude and joy.

"Thank you. Thank you so much..." She whispered, her voice breaking. Tooth rubbed her shoulders soothingly. North and the others smiled at the two, glad that, for once, Tooth might be able to have a female friend. (Because, come on, the only girl in a mostly-boys club for 2,000 years was bound to be starved for a little estrogen, right?)

Nia wiped her eyes with a sniffle and a slightly embarrassed chuckle before turning to said boys. Bunny came over to hug her, too, and then gave her a grin.

"Well, whadda ya say we go kidnap yer old man, Sparks?" He invited with a wink. Jack spoke up from behind him.

"Um, I don't think Pit- I mean, Kozmotis will take to being shoved into a sack and tossed through a magic portal as kindly as I did."

Nia's brows furrowed momentarily, but shook her head, making a note to get the story out of him later. She gave Bunny a regretful look.

"Yeah, he's still a little sore over the whole 'kicked him six ways to Sunday' thing." She said with pursed lips. North quirked a brow.

"Vhat do you mean?"

Nia rubbed the back of her neck as she bit her lip, trying to decide how to explain it.

"Well...he's...he's not mad at you guys, per se. More like...he's mad at how easily you beat him. Rather, how you beat 'the other guy', as he calls him." She explained with a flourish of air quotes.

Bunny spluttered a little. "'Easily'?! The guy practically had us on a silver platter! The only thing that saved us was Jack getting to Jamie!" He objected with a motion towards the mentioned sprite.

Nia grimaced. "Yeah. But...you guys fought Pitch Black. But you've never even seen what my dad can do - not even counting the military strategy, you have to understand, my dad trained to fight Fearlings. Fighting Fearlings isn't the same as fighting Night Mares - they're two completely different things. Trust me when I say you would've gone down twice as quick if you'd been up against my dad." She said with absolute seriousness. Jack's brows shot up at the picture she painted. By now Bunny was quite simply incredulous.

"Forgive me if I doubt that just a little, Sparks." He drawled, crossing his arms. Nia did the same with a quirked brow and a 'Oh really?' expression.

"Bun-Bun, I hate to break it to you, but that is, in fact, what would've happened. Pardon my French, but my dad is a frickin' BAMF."

Jack would've burst into laughter, except that Nia's face was as serious as a heart attack. Crap, she wasn't kidding around.

"Wait a sec, I thought you said he wasn't mad at us?" Jack interceded with a flap of his arms.

The Huntress shrugged. "He's not. Per se." She sighed in exasperation and rubbed her forehead. "It's a matter of pride, more than anything. He can't stand the fact that he was defeated so shamefully by people with not even a fraction of his experience. Plus, he's not used to asking for help."

"So _that's _why yer such a bloody mule whenever yah get inta a blue?" Bunny deadpanned with a scowl. Nia looked like she was about to retort but stopped and blinked in realisation.

"Well...yeah, actually." She chuckled incredulously. "Come to think of it, people I fought, like, 600 years ago will still say I'm an outright bitch." She mused, mostly to herself. Jack coughed to disguise a bark of laughter. Tooth let a giggle slip before throwing her hands up.

"Nothing for it, then. To the sleigh!" She chirped, which earned a groan from Bunny. Nia snickered and reached into her pouch.

"Not necessary. I can get him here in a lick." She said and then held up a tiny glass sphere within which swirled a miniature hurricane of nightmare sand. Sandy took on a suspicious expression and pointed sharply at the marble with a question mark curling over his head.

"This? This is portal sand. Apparently it never got past the experimental stage, so he gave me some. For emergencies only." She explained, rolling the sphere between her fingers like she was playing the knife game. "It opens a two-way portal anywhere you want. So, with your permission, North?" She asked with an inclination of her head towards the boss of Santoff Clausen.

North rubbed his chin for a moment, blue eyes considering; it would save time, but if Kozmotis was holding a grudge towards them and he was as capable as Nia alluded...

Ah, what the hell? Even if it came to a fight, he could always remodel!

"Very well. But please," he said quickly "try to convince not to attack, da?"

Nia placed her right fist over her heart. "I give you my word. Besides, he listens to me," she chirped confidently, only to mutter "...most of the time."

She turned to face the wall but looked at them over her shoulder. "Oh, and back up a few feet anyway. He'll be pissed if he thinks you're messing with me."

Jack chuckled. "Won't he be pissed either way?"

"Well yeah. But there's a difference between pissed and murderous, right?" Nia quipped with a flash of her sharp, smug smile.

Jack realized that, once again, it wasn't a joke at the same time she threw the orb.

The glass marble shattered easily against the wall and the portal sand went to work immediately, clinging to the stone and expanding. A hole the size of a doorway was torn open with a sound like shredding rocks; Bunny's ears pinned all the way back from the screeching clamor.

When it stopped, instead of staring at the rock behind the wall, they were staring through a doorway to what Jack recognized as the main chamber of the Nightmare Realm.

Nia stood fearlessly before it, cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled:

"DADDY~!"

There was an awkward silence for about two heartbeats.

And then the oversized blade of a war scythe made of gleaming purplish blue-black sand came rocketing out in a sweeping arc, nearly cutting everyone in the room in half.

Nia cursed in a strange language as she hit the deck, along with the Guardians. Following the scythe came the lean, sure and absolutely livid figure of Kozmotis Pitchiner, eyes blazing amber as he called for his daughter. He caught sight of both her splayed on the floor as well the Guardians just a few feet behind her. The Nightmare King cussed and grabbed his child, shoving her behind himself and brandishing his scythe, teeth bared in his incandescent rage. The five Legends all scrambled to their feet or back into the air, backing away quickly, all resisting the urge to lift their own weapons.

Neither side dared move.

"Nia, bhfuil tú ceart go leor?" He murmured to her, and then in English towards the Guardians with a venomous tone, "How dare you touch her, you despicable worms! Whatever quarrel you have me you shall take out on me, but leave her out of this!" He snarled, a ferociousness none of them had ever seen shining in his eyes. Nia managed to snap out of her shock and reached around his chest (no small feat - she was tiny next to him) and grab the handle of his scythe to prevent his using it.

"Athair, fan! Tá sé ceart go leor, they haven't hurt me!" She assured as soothingly as she could, coming to his side. Kozmotis didn't relax; he barely glanced at her, not daring to take his eyes off the Legends who had very recently given him the ass-kicking of a lifetime for all the wrong reasons - who had somehow found out about his child and had sunk so low as to kidnap her?!

Nope, he was not in the mood for listening.

"Nia, a fháil ar an tairseach." (Nia, get in the portal.)

The Huntress set her chin stubbornly and tugged her father's arm so that he faced her.

"Athair, calma síos, ceart go leor? Féach ar dom, Tá mé go maith!" (Dad, calm down, okay? Look at me, I'm fine!) She insisted, her alto voice turning the fluid language into pure music. Not to mention leaving the five Guardians confused as hell.

"Toothy, vhat are dey saying?" North asked under his breath towards the fairy Queen, hoping that her gift of understanding every language in the world would give them at least an inkling of what was being discussed. But as Tooth strained her ears and struggled to pick apart the melodious tongue, her elfin face became more and more confused. There were bits and pieces that sounded vaguely familiar; scraps and syllables of completely different languages thrown together. But what Kozmotis and Nia were speaking was not of Earth.

Finally the Queen shook her head helplessly. "I...I don't know..."

Bunny and North shared an alarmed look, but turned at once when Kozmotis suddenly shouted,

"Cad a dhéanann tú i gceist, thug tú dom anseo ar na críche sin?!" (What do you mean, you brought me here on purpose?!)

Nia flinched back but glared all the same. He had disintegrated his scythe in his white-knuckled grip and was looming over his daughter in outrage. The sand portal behind them had already closed.

"Is féidir leo cabhrú linn. Dúirt mé leo gach rud, Athair." (They can help us. I told them everything, Father.) She said, holding her hands in front of her pleadingly. Kozmotis' face went slack, as though he had been slapped, and he stumbled a step back from his daughter, eyes swimming with a profound grief and betrayal. Nia's breath hitched in her throat at his action, and suddenly she looked like the one who'd been slapped. She seemed afraid to even reach out to him.

"Conas a d'fhéadfadh tú?" (How could you?)

The Huntress' eyes filled with desperation. "Chun tú," (For you,) she said breathlessly, as though the answer should have been obvious. "Cé eile a bheadh liom dul chuig? An Tsar inis dom féin-" (Who else could I turn to? The Tsar himself told me-)

"Dúradh leat le cad é?! An bhfuil iad a mharú dom uair amháin agus do gach duine, a ghearradh mo fulaingt gearr?!" (Told you to what?! Have them kill me once and for all, cut my suffering short?!) He snarled, spitting the words venomously. Nia's gold-green eyes darkened into something dangerous and feral. Jack saw it for what it was; a defense mechanism that he himself had used for 300 years. Whenever something hit you, you unsheathed your claws and hit back twice as hard and made the world see just how tough you were. Then no one would hurt you.

"I came to them because I was desperate." She started softly with an undertone of fury. The room seemed to grow a few degrees hotter. "I came because I've had to see you suffer through this for 3,000 years. You are all I have left in this life, and yet you tell me to just leave you to die?! No, Father, that's just not in my nature, as you should very well know! The Tsar himself gave me my instructions, and if he says you still have a chance, then godsdammit, you have a chance! Who's the one who taught me not to look a gift horse in the mouth, huh?!" She finished, her eyes glowing with spitfire and stubbornness, her cheeks flushed in the intensity of her words. Jack had to admit, she made quite the lovely image, even when ranting.

Kozmotis, however, was practically foaming at the mouth as his daughter raged at him. North was positive that if someone was to walk between the two of them they'd drop dead instantly. You could see he was barely holding back his own tirade when he spoke through his teeth.

"We need to talk."

Quick as a cobra's strike, Kozmotis snatched Nia's arm, ignoring her squawk of protest, and dragged her clear across the Globe Room to an empty storage room where he promptly threw his daughter inside and slammed the door behind him.

The resulting silence lasted for about three or five heartbeats before Tooth dared speak up.

"Um...should we maybe make sure they don't kill each other in there?" She squeaked, feathers refusing to lay flat on her skin in her anxiety. She'd been prepared for Kozmotis to attack them, not brawl with his own daughter!

"I think that's a good idea," Jack stuttered and then nudged Bunny with his elbow. "Bunny, go see if you can eavesdrop."

The Pooka spluttered and nearly protested, only to jump (along with the other four) when there was an impressively loud outburst from the supply room. It sounded like Kozmotis, but he was quickly cut off by Nia's higher alto voice. The furious baritone of her father interrupted her again.

Concern for Nia trampled Bunny's hesitation, and he silently hopped over to the door, his comrades close behind him, pressing his ear against it to see what he could pick up.

"Don't you dare play innocent, Verañia, and Bunnymund, if you don't get your ear off that door, _I'll rip it off myself!_"

Bunny jumped back at once, officially spooked. Kozmotis was ten times scarier than Pitch. It didn't matter that he wasn't close to the door anymore, though; the 'conversation' was escalating rather quickly. Even the others could make out what the two Pitchiners were screaming.

"Will you just listen to me?! I know that what happened was embarassing, I get that, Dad, really I do, but look at it this way: you've gone up against them, you've seen what they can do - who better for helping us find someone who's been missing for centuries?"

"What're you on about now?!"

"Nightlight, he's-"

"NIGHTLIGHT?!"

"Will you just let me finish?!"

"VERAÑIA, WE ARE LEAVING HERE THIS INSTANT, I DON'T GIVE HALF A DRAGON'S ASS WHAT ANYONE TOLD YOU!"

"LISTEN TO ME, DAMMIT, WHY WOULD THE TSAR SEND ME AFTER SOMEONE HE WASN'T SURE WAS ALIVE?!"

" HOW ARE YOU SURE THAT HE'S SURE?!"

"I'M NOT ALRIGHT?! I can't be, but I will not stand by and watch you waste away inside yourself! You know that if Mama were here-"

"DON'T YOU DARE BRING YOUR MOTHER INTO THIS OR SO HELP ME-!"

"OR WHAT?! WHAT WILL YOU DO?!"

"IF I HAVE TO CHAIN YOU TO THE WALL, I WILL, BUT I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO RUSH INTO A WILD GOOSE CHASE AND GET YOURSELF KILLED!"

"GET MYSELF KI- I'VE BEEN ON MY OWN FOR 3,000 YEARS!"

"I DON'T CARE! I AM STILL YOUR FATHER, WE ARE NOT GOING, AND THAT IS FINAL!"

BAM!

For a few seconds, all Jack was aware of was that his ears were ringing. When that died down, he sat up with a groan, accepting Bunny's paw and Tooth's steadying hands. When he caught sight of the door, he quickly understood; somehow, Nia had caused an explosion. How else would one of North's vault-like doors be reduced to a pile of smoking kindling?

A stomach-churning silence dominated the room, and Jack feared that they were going to have one hell of a time scraping bits of Kozmotis off the walls, but then the man himself spoke up, none-too happily.

"Did you just SHOOT AT ME, YOUNG LADY?!"

Well, at least no one was dead. Yet, anyway.

"YES! Yes, I did because you're being a bloody mule about this!"

"ME?!"

"YOU!"

"You are asking me to put my life - and yours - in their hands!"

"Father," Nia's voice was suddenly filled with a profound sadness, "I realize that. But I wouldn't ask you to do this if it wasn't the only choice we have left...This is our chance, our last chance, to be a family again. Please, Daddy...do it for yourself. For me, for all of us..."

A pregnant silence settled again, and Jack couldn't resist the urge to get a better picture of the situation. This was, if Nia's memories were to be trusted, history being rewritten.

He peeked carefully around the door with Tooth and Sandy right next to him.

Kozmotis' face was torn as he looked down at his last surviving daughter, who silently implored him to withhold his judgment and reconsider. The poor girl looked close to tears, her beautiful eyes swimming with desperation and a pain so deep-rooted, Jack was sure that anything he had ever suffered through was but a blink to the ancient spirits before him.

Finally, Kozmotis closed his eyes, suddenly looking tired and aged; he was most definitely not the Pitch Black Jack and the others had faced just a few weeks before, but he wasn't quite the Kozmotis of Nia's memories. In his simple black human clothes and softer, pensive expression, he appeared to be in a limbo between both personalities.

"Alright," he whispered at last, "I'll do it. For all of us..."

Nia's answering smile was brighter than the sun itself. She threw her arms around him him with a sob, burying her face in his chest, whispering,

"Go raibh maith agat, Athair..."

Kozmotis smiled down at her and stroked her hair and back, eyes as gentle as the eyes of any father holding his baby girl. The sight was as much heartwarming as it was alien to the Guardians.

"You are a force of nature at best, my darling. And stubborn as hell at your worst." Chuckled the General with a wry smile. The Huntress grinned mischievously up at her sire.

"I learned from the best, Daddy." She assured.

"Of course you did. Now, if you five are done eavesdropping, I really would like to know if this suicide mission comes with a plan, at least."

The afforementioned eavesdroppers flinched, and stood in the doorway rather awkwardly. Bunny cleared his throat nervously and then gestured vaguely at Nia.

"Well, you're the one Manny spoke to, Sparks. Care to throw us a bone?"

The young Huntress blinked and then hummed, tapping her lips as she though back to her fleeting conversation with the Tsar Lunanoff. Especially his riddle...

She suddenly looked over at North.

"Got a map?"

..:oOo:..

"Tell it to me again."

Nia sighed and recited (for the fifth time): "'The greatest of lights shine brightest in the darkest of shadows.'"

Kozmotis' eyes stayed glued to the map of the world North had provided, fingers fiddling with the corners if the paper, much like Nia's. His amber and steel eyes snapped up to Nia.

"Are you sure there wasn't anything else?"

Nia scowled and opened her mouth to retort, but then snapped it closed and realization dawned in her eyes. "'Do not think like Nightlight.'" She gasped. "It was subtle, but I'm sure he meant that as part of the riddle!"

Kozmotis' fingers stilled and his eyes widened marginally.

"Of course...That's it! Nightlight was an experienced magic user, and as such, his default action would be to pick the most hidden, inaccessible location possible and cloak it with wards to near suffocation! But," he exclaimed, beginning to pace, "if the Tsar's words are true, and I'm pretty damn sure they are, he's done the exact opposite-"

"He's picked somewhere already chock full of magical energies, thereby leaving no essence or personal aura to be tracked. He'd be nigh impossible to find." Nia finished, with a Kodak-worthy 'Eureka!' expression.

"The riddle is meant to be analyzed in reverse, it's a red herring! His magical signature would be extreamly strong in an isolated location, especially here on Earth! He'd have to mask with a much stronger, pre-existing aura!" Kozmotis continued, eyes growing brighter as he paced and paced.

It really was an amazing sight; the Guardians had been standing off to the sidelines for the past fifteen minutes, watching Nia and Kozmotis lean over the map, spitballing tactics back and forth like a finely tuned war council of two.

"This day has been too weird for words." Tooth whispered to Bunny where he leaned against one of North's sofas. The Pooka nodded mutely.

"Gotta admit, though, this meeting was a bit more exciting than the last one." Jack muttered from the corner of his mouth.

"Okay then," Nia began, digging a red sharpie from the pouch on her left hip, "all _we_ have to figure out is where he's hidden. Which means places with an abundance of natural magical energies. Oh...which doesn't narrow it down. Like, at all." She grimaced, her shoulders visibly slumping.

Kozmotis pressed his lips together and came to lean over the map again. "Just give me every place you can think of."

The sharpie flew across the paper, circling certain areas and putting a red dot over certain cities. The jumble of red was intimidating to say the least. The suspects included everywhere from Rio de Janeiro to Budapest to the Appalachian mountains and the Sahara Desert.

By the time Nia was done, Kozmotis' eyes had widened. Then he blinked and pointed to the bottom of the map.

"Not Antarctica?" He asked simply.

Nia shook her head, auburn curls bouncing. "You'd think so, huh? But it just doesn't have that...thrum to it. It's more a neutral, peaceful place than anything."

Jack found the nerve to speak up, and the insolence to make it a sarcastic statement, to boot. "Hold up, do we seriously have to comb half the planet just to find this one guy? Some of us can't handle certain conditions, and some of us have jobs we can't slack off on." He protested, referring to himself and Bunny, who were used to a specific climate, and to Tooth and Sandy, whose jobs required their near-constant attention.

Kozmotis regarded the winter herald with a critical eye.

"You never saw that 'guy' do what I saw him do, Frost. There were only two simple reasons why I replaced him as General. One, is that I surpassed him in stratagem theory and weaponry comprehension. Two, he was vulnerable to Fearlings because of...certain classified reasons and so chose to personally served the royal family as a bodygaurd." He said with a flicker of a glance in his daughter's direction. "So, yes. We really don't have another choice but to comb each of these places and see if we manage to get lucky. As for your limitations...Nia?" He said his daughter's name coyly, as though inviting a demonstration. The Huntress smirked and then directed her powerful gaze to her fellow elemental.

Jack went stiff under her feline eyes, entranced by the raw energy, the sheer life that seemed to pulse deep within those wells of sultry gold and electric jade. He swallowed thickly when she raised her hand to her mouth and blew a kiss, sending with it a butterfly of gold and violet flames that fluttered daintily to him and dissipated against his mouth, sending a wave of spine-tingling heat all over his body that vanished as soon as it appeared. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bunny receive the same gift, except his touched his forehead. He looked at Nia suspiciously.

She giggled at his glare. "Relax, Jackie - just a simple little spell to protect you from too much heat. Now you and Bunny will be just fine, no matter where we go."

Jack barely fought down a violent blush at her nickname.

"W-well," he spluttered "what about Tooth and Sandy?" He demanded, crossing his arms and refusing to look like he was flustered over some girl. An incredibly beautiful, intriguing, mind-numbingly magnetic girl, but just a girl, all the same! No simple female was going to get a jump on Jack Frost, no sir!

Oh, if only he could himself of that...

"Don't worry, Jack, Sandy and I will figure something out. If we really need to, we'll work out shifts so we can pop out and right back in, right Sandy?" Tooth herself assured him with a gentle touch and a warm smile. The Sandman gave the winter child a double thumbs-up with a bob of his explosive hair.

"Is settled, den! Now to de sleigh!" North announced with great enthusiasm. Kozmotis' lips thinned a little as he rolled up the map and slipped it into his coat.

"Are you all sure you can handle this? Nia can tell you herself, there are worse things than Night Mares out there." He warned with all seriousness possible. Bunny chuckled and gestured to himself and his comrades.

"Yer talkin' tah the ones that kicked the shadows right off ya not three weeks ago. I'm pretty sure we can handle a few beasties." The Pooka smirked confidently, even as the General's eyes narrowed to slits.

"Believe me, Pooka, if it had been _me _you were fighting, you'd be a pile of charred bones right now."

"Dad. Stop." Nia ordered firmly with a twist of her raspberry red lips. Kozmotis glanced at his daughter and rolled his eyes but acquiesced and turned to follow North and Tooth down to the launching dock. Nia and the others followed, but as the five Guardians rounded and corner, the Huntress quietly pulled her father to a stop. He looked down at her questioningly.

"Daddy," she began in a whisper, "I am in no way doubting your self-control, but is it okay if I ask you to take just one little precaution?" She asked carefully, and held up a pair of golden wrist cuffs, similar to the one she wore on her left wrist. "Just so your symptoms don't speed up?" She begged.

Kozmotis blinked, but nodded at once and held out his hands; if he was going to take this crazy endeavor seriously, he might as well give himself all the time he could get.

Nia slipped the cuffs onto his wrists, and lightly touched them with her fingertips, closing her eyes for concentration. She muttered a few words in an exotic language he recognized as Atlantean, and tapped the gold jewels twice, made a clockwise, then counterclockwise circle around his wrists, and tapped the cuffs twice once more. The gold bracelets pulsed with light, and a lovely, cleansing feeling flowed through his veins, driving back that horrible crawling sensation he'd been feeling for days. It left him with a lighthearted feeling in his chest and he felt like he could breath again. He smiled at his daughter and she smiled right back, happy simply to see _him _happy.

"That should hold you for a few months, at least. If you feel it wearing thin, tell me and I'll recast it, okay?" She instructed. He smiled and stroked her cheek.

"Ombric taught you well, my little lioness. Now then, let's catch up to the others. I feel like wrestling a hydra." He stated cheerfully as he tucked his daughter into his side and strode down the hall with a new energy to his long, confident stride.

Nia laughed wholeheartedly. "Oh, totally..."

..:oOo:..


	6. Of Incidents and Demonstrations

**I feel so frikkin' guilty right now. Once again, my muse was bring uncooperative. It went something like:**

**Muse: Write what's in the notebook, woman!**

**Me: But it's unnecessary! My readers like the current chemistry and besides it's-**

**Muse: WRITE THE CONFLICT, SLAVE!**

**Me: *takes deep breath* ****_NO! NOW GO - AWAY! _****No, no, no, wait, I didn't mean that, I sowee!**

**Sigh, and et cetera, et cetera, and so forth. But, I promised a bit if action and hopefully this delivers! Really, I just wanted to make it clear what it is that Nia's job is as the Keeper of the Wilds. BTW, writing in Jack's POV is surprisingly difficult T_T**

**Reviews!**

**The One Named Moonlight: It is indeed! You're the first to pick up on it; I chose that for their language because it is beautiful and exotic but ancient at the same time. And also because it would be a pain to try to just make up the words. I'd end up writing gibberish, and I wouldn't be happy with it at all.**

**TwixyReitz: Glad you liked the banter. I was sugar high when I wrote that part. Go figure. Kathy will be mentioned in this chapter, and she will play a minor major role in the story later on, if that makes sense.**

**Guest (6/13/13): Thank you! And yeah, the chapters are lengthy but I figure I should give my readers everything I can give in between updates.**

**Xion5: Yup, I'm rather proud of that bit. Actually, I base Nia and Pitch's relationship off the way I interact with my own dad. We adore each other we both know it, but we practically bring the house down when we fight, even though we both know we'll make up like five seconds later.**

**Yatogirl: Yeah, I actually rewrote that part from the original in my notebook. It was more forward and Bunny tried to talk Jack out of it, but it revealed a key plot point for later, so I simplified it. And yeah, Jack's totally fooling himself ;)**

**And without further ado, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. The sequel to the movie would already be out if I did.**

Fire & Ice and Everything Nice

Chapter 6: Of Incidents and Demonstrations

Gravity is a contributing factor in nearly 73 percent of all accidents involving falling objects

- Dave Barry

..:oOo:..

After reassuring Phil that, no, it really wasn't Pitch Black right behind us, and no, we were not brainwashed, the sleigh was prepped and nearly ready to launch. Nia and Kozmotis stood a little off to the side, talking quietly and watching the yetis hustle about with observant, scrutinous eyes. I stood with Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy while North played head honcho and pretended not to stare.

Bunny gave the sleigh a cursory look and then glanced back over at Kozmotis, whose face had taken on a cool, blank expression. "I'm startin' to think this is gonna get uncomfortable." He grumbled.

Tooth smiled and touched his shoulder. "Give him credit, Bunny. After all, he's a whole other person with Nia around. Literally." She chirped optimistically. I scoffed.

"Still more or less a grouch." I muttered. Tooth sucked on her teeth dissaprovingly, exactly how my mom so often did when was human. One of the many reasons I simply adored Tooth; not because she was trying to replace my mom. But because she did it without a second thought and even seemed happy to have someone to fuss over.

"Jack, just imagine what the poor guy has been through! It can't be easy living with all those things on your conscience and not being able to do a thing about it. And just look at how he looks at Nia," she stressed with a discreet wave of her hand towards the two. I could see what she was trying to point out. Their bodies were completely angled towards each other, Kozmotis' arm around Nia's shoulders, Nia's hand gripping her father's coat. They watched everything with cautious, analytic eyes, a poised, defensive tension in their stances. Like they were ready to jump to each other's defense with the slightest hint of provocation.

It made me tilt my head in consideration. So many questions surrounding those two...I had a feeling there would be more to this little road trip than just finding this Nightlight. I mean, seeing and hearing everything in Nia's memories had made a lot, I mean a lot of questions crop up in my head. Contrary to my own statement, I wasn't all snowballs and fun times. I was a Colonial kid - practicality had been hammered into my head from the time I could walk. It gave me a good eye for seeing things clearly, and in this case, I could see there were a lot of layers to peel back, from both Nia and Kozmotis. Plus, I was starting to think that maybe Manny himself hadn't told us everything there was to tell. Crap, what was I thinking? This was MiM I was thinking of here; when was the last time he'd ever said anything other than a few scant clues? Case in point: yours truly.

It took Bunny punching me in the shoulder to snap me out of my musings, and I realized he and Tooth had been calling my name for who knows how long.

"Ack! Oh, s-sorry, guys. Spaced out for a second." I apologized. Jeez, come to think of it, the whole 'attention span of a sparrow' thing was a bad habit of mine. Must be a leftover from the 300 years of isolation. Unless I had ADD or something and crap, there I went again.

"Frostbite, fer dang's sake, pay attention!"

"Okay, okay, what?!"

"Sleigh's ready, ya drongo, get yer rear in gear!" Bunny growled and lightly cuffed the back of my head. I sucked my teeth and shoved him away, following the standard sibling rivalry protocol. Now that the Easter of '68 (and other assorted pranks) was behind us, Bunny and I were thick as thieves, and I couldn't be happier. I had vague memories of my older brother from when I was human, but he had died when I was very young. I couldn't remember how he'd died, could barely even remember what he'd looked like. I only had a blurry recollection of many days spent riding his shoulders and playing in the woods around Burgess. He'd called me Jack-Jack, and I, for some reason, called him Lix. But the trust, the love, the...yes, even the admiration, I'd felt for Lix was mirrored in my new relationship with Bunny. Nowadays, I didn't know what I'd do without that overgrown kangaroo.

Looking over at Nia as we piled onto the sleigh, I felt total sympathy for her. Our pasts were so alike it was scary. Could it be that it wasn't just coincidence? That Manny was up to his old tricks once more? As I looked over my shoulder at her and grinned, and have her grin right back, I could only conclude that we'd just have to wait and see.

"Hang on, Red." I muttered to her. Her smirk grew to flash one pearly wolf fang and she winked.

"I think I'll be okay, Jackie."

Oh, jeez, again with the nickname. What was it about her that drew me in so easily, like a moth to a flame?

Looking over at her dad, I went from spazzed to terrified in .5 seconds flat. If looks could kill, I'd be a stain on the wall. With a gulp, I whipped my head away and tried to fight down both dread and embarrassment.

Jeez, is this what human guys feel like when their girlfriend's dad is a military? Well, hopefully Mr. Grumpypants would change his tune as soon as-

"Yah!" North shouted with smart snap of the reins.

Yup, as soon as that happened.

All seven passengers lurched backward as the reindeer bugled and surged into the tunnels. Tooth and I grabbed each other's arms to steady each other behind North, and I looked over my shoulder to see Sandy throw his hands up with a smile while Bunny turned positively green around the gills. In the back row was Nia, legs crouched under herself, hair whipped back by the wind, grin nearly splitting her face as she whooped her excitement. And next to her Kozmotis was- What the hell?! He looked just as grumpy and bored as before!

"C'mon, Dad, have some fun!" Nia crowed and nudged his arm. Kozmotis scoffed, not batting an eyelash as we jarred violently on the tracks.

"I've been on faster skiffs!" He stated as the sleigh hit a bump and caught air before hitting the tracks with a screech and shower of sparks. I could not believe this guy.

"Seriously?! Vhat beasts have you ridden?!" North demanded over his shoulder as we swerved around a sharp corner and skittered up the wall nearly going inverted. The tunnel's end loomed about a hundred yards ahead.

Kozmotis smirked. "Imperial dragons, for one." He said simply. Bunny managed to squawk out an incredulous "WHAT?!" and Sandy formed a huge exclamation point over his head, but that was all anyone got out before the sleigh made a particularly large bump as we hit the launching platform and bounced over the planks. The rear thrusters gave a stomache-tingling FWWWOOOM! at the same time the reindeer gave a powerful jump and just like that, we were up in the biting air of the Pole.

Just like last time, I leapt up onto the side wings and whooped to the sky, throwing my head back with an ecstatic laugh. Oh yeah, this was living. And this time, I had quite the lovely howl chorusing my own. Looking back at Nia, she was practically leaning out of the sleigh, her parka blown back, hair whipping crazily in the wind. Her eyes gleamed like jewels and her smile was all shining teeth.

"That - was - AWESOME!" She crowed and threw up her arms.

I laughed. "Everyone loves the sleigh!" I sang with a wink. Nia laughed, and the rich, spirited sound made my heart pound faster. North bellowed merrily and then tossed something to Nia; a snow globe.

"Your call, dorogwiye devushki, where to first?" North asked as I climbed back into the sleigh.

Nia's smile curled into a grin and her wolf fangs flashed like gems. She chuckled as she swirled the glass sphere. "To the wildest of the wild, my friends...Amazon Rainforest." She whispered and then snapped her arm forward.

The portal burst in a vortex of color and light, and with one snap of the reins, we were sucked in and spat right back out clear across the globe.

The first thing that hit me was the heat. It was like the slap of an enormous humid hand that carried the scent of exotic fruits and untouched jungles. Strangely enough, thanks to Nia's spell, the blistering air seemed to slide right off my skin and all I could feel was a lukewarm breeze. Odd, but not unmanageable. We whipped past wispy clouds and over a crawling plane of tangled trees and mountains. It was a dizzying mish-mash of greens and blacks, laced with ominous fog.

"Wow..." I breathed as I leaned over the rails, trying to spy anything between the tangled chaos of the canopy.

"If you like this, you're gonna love the view under the branches, Jackie." Nia laughed behind me, but when I turned with a witty retort on my tongue, my brain flat lined.

If Nia in a parka was temptation incarnate, Nia without a parka should've been downright illegal.

Holy Moon and stars, what a frikkin' figure. I could've wrapped my arms all the way around that waist! She was very slender and willowy, though not in a worrisome way; and her sharp, youthful curves were a nice contrast in that her ferocity was softened by her gangly, long looks. Her delicate limbs were sheathed in lean, solid muscles that rippled like a panther's beneath her flawless russet skin. All in all, a gazelle-like build; all power, sleekness, and natural beauty. But maybe that wasn't perfectly accurate. She was more a lynx. An apex predator. Seeing her right at that moment, stance tall and proud, eyes shining as she looked over the untamed jungle, hair a wild flame in the wind, she was a goddess standing over her domain. Unreachable, all-powerful, the epitome of perfection.

Until her smile faded and was replaced with a rabid snarl.

"What the hell?!"

Following her line of sight, I spied what it was that had upset her. Five miles West of us, a large patch of the forest was being leveled by a small army of bulldozers and diggers.

"NORTH! Swing around, get me in closer!" She barked, eyes glued to the machines, which looked jagged and honestly abominable amongst the curving, twisting foliage. There was a nod from North, a tug, a snap, and we were over them in just a minute.

"W-wait, what're you doing?!" I demanded she jumped onto the sides and tugged her bow from her back to her fist. She gave me a narrow-eyed look.

"My job." She snarled, and then jumped.

It wasn't a swan dive. No, more like a falcon rocketing towards its unsuspecting prey. I leaned over the sides to watch, wide-eyed, along with Bunny, Tooth, Sandy, and Kozmotis, who looked more curious than concerned.

Nia drew the string of her bow, which I didn't understand until an arrow materialized between her fingers and the sight, an arrow of golden-violet fire whose glow was painfully bright, even from here. There was a thunderous snap and a crackle of electricity as the projectile flew, as though guided, towards the main digger and struck a perfect bulls-eye. The roof burst into flames that quickly licked into the driver's compartment. The worker inside barely had time to escape before the whole machine gave a groan, exploded, and collapsed in a shower of purple sparks.

Damn. I was wondering why she didn't have a quiver.

Oh, but Nia wasn't done, apparently. With a flip, she landed in a crouch on the pyre of the digger and snarled over the site. Before the workers could even think of trying to salvage the digger, Nia's arm drew once more and unleashed a perpetual rain of fiery arrows that impacted every machine in the clearing with point-blank accuracy. The explosions made my ears ring, and the crackles of electricity from her shots manifested as white sparks that danced along the metal sides of the sleigh and helped the few remaining machines collapse even faster. The humans' head were practically spinning; the attack had been swift and brutal, lasting no more than fifteen seconds. (And yes, I counted.) The palpatations of the magic in the air made my stomach twist and my blood vibrate.

I thought that would've been enough for Nia. To the humans, she was completely invisible, and so all they could figure was that all their machines had decided to spontaneously combust. But apparantly, she was trying to send a message, because she raised her fingers to her mouth and blew out a high, sharp whistle.

The piercing trill echoed over the whole jungle, shimmering in the air with its power. Even the humans trembled as the energy of her call went unheard but was felt; it was a ripple of pure magic. Nia flipped off the digger and ran to the forest's edge. Out of nowhere, there was a tremor and the feeling of many, many somethings being roused from a deep sleep. The energy that exploded from the very trees was so great, I went light-headed, and I saw Bunny stumble as well. I recognized it for what it was.

The forest was answering its Keeper's call to arms.

A screeching cacophony rose from the jungle, and then a veritable storm of feathers and talons rose from the canopy. Dizzying caws and whistles mixed with brilliant colors as the every able-bodied bird within a five-mile radius took the air and swarmed over the clearing. At the same time, hoots, roars, and screams of pure fury tore out from the trees, and the whole forest shook and shivered as hundreds of big cats, primates, and wild boars stampeded the clearing and swung in from the branches, claws flashing, pelts rippling with primal strength, teeth gleaming and bared. They snarled, hissed and snapped their jaws, pounding and pawing the ground, eager to defend their home.

Nia led the charge with a lion's roar of a war cry, bow raised like a queen's sceptor and the sound of the jungle's forces descending on the ones who had dared trespass on their land was as blood chilling as it was awing. There was utter silence among us six as the we watched the unthinkable spectacle unfold.

In the flurry of pelts and wings, I thought for sure that the humans would be nothing but stripped bones when the dust settled, but I was surprised once more when Tooth exclaimed and pointed to the fleeing party. Jaguars were nipping at their heels with vicious snarls and birds were pecking and snapping at their heads and their hands, but they were (mostly) unharmed by the time they'd been herded deep back up the path they had taken to the jungle.

And just like that, it was over as quickly as it had begun.

North cautiously brought down the skeigh, and Kozmotis made us all jump when he burst into raucious, whole-hearted laughter, the likes of which I never in a million years would've thought I'd hear from him. He was the first to jump out and started clapping, still chuckling enthusiastically, which made Nia turn to him with a wide smile.

"That's my girl, hahaha!" He chortled with a triumphant shake of his fist.

Nia practically glowed and bowed like a prima donna. Then, she turned her attention to her regathering troops. Honestly, it went against everything my dad had taught me as a little kid; he'd nearly tanned my hide this one time for trying to bring a wolf pup home. And here Nia was, just as scrawny and small as me, petting a bunch of ocelots, jaguars, and wild boars like they were house pets! Then again, that's exactly what they were acting like, these supposedly untamable wild beasts.

They rubbed their heads against her and curled around her legs, snuffling and licking at her hands. A black-furred spider monkey jumped onto her back as a Capuchin hugged her arm and a frikkin' huge harpy eagle perched on her opposite shoulder, its wickedly curving talons held delicately against her skin, not inflicting a single scratch, while a red macaw used her knee as a branch. Nia was just as cuddly with them, murmuring soft praises accentuated with deep purrs as she caressed their pelts and rubbed their tusks and chins, stroking their feathers indulgently.

"I'll make sure this is all fixed, you guys. Oh, thank you so much, you were all brilliant." She cooed as she hugged a jaguar and a boar, who both rumbled like spoiled kittens. The Capuchin on her arm chittered happily and hugged her neck, to which Nia giggled and scratched his chin with her free hand. "My pleasure, little one. You were very brave. Now go on, all of you, go back home. I've got it from here." She urged and gave a reluctant ocelot an encouraging pat on the rump to get her moving. The big cat mewled and licked her hand before loping off, back towards the trees. The harpy eagle on her shoulder gave her cheek an affectionate pinch before leaping into the air with his brethren, and every creature in the clearing dissapeared as swiftly as they had arrived.

To be honest, I was dumbstruck. And seriously impressed. I mean, come on, how many girls do you meet who can command an army of animals and chase off a group of humans who can't even see her, all with barely breaking a sweat?!

I could barely hear my inner sixteen-year-old screaming, "Jump her frikkin' bones! She is a keeper, do you copy?!"

And ohhhh, did I copy.

I could barely choke out a laugh. "You, my friend," I gasped "are frikkin' amazing." I stated as I loped up to her and bowed. "My eternal respect, fair lady."

Nia threw her head back with a laugh and a curtsey. "Why thank you, good sir. All in a day's work."

I laughed disbelievingly once more. "What, is that what you do every other day?" I demanded.

"Nahh," she drawled with a dismissive wave of her hand and twirled her bow like a baton. "That's what I call a drastic measure. Usually I'm directing migration patterns, stabilizing food chains and trying to reverse desertification. Cake."

Oh, she was too much. I could only laugh as Bunny scooped her up and spun her around.

"You - are - bloody brilliant, Sparks! Damn, I'd never seen ya in action 'afore now! Hoo-ee, r'mind me nevah to get you pissed again!" He chuckled and ruffled her hair. She laughed and shoved him away, putting on a playfully superior face.

"That's right, Bun-Bun, bask in my sheer awesomeness. Haha, no, seriously, if you think that's something, you should see my sis in action." She said with admiring eagarness shining in her eyes. Tooth laughed with an incredulous shake of her head as Sandy clapped enthusiastically. North gave a full-bellied laugh.

"Now I know vhy storm spirits say one should never cross de great Keeper! I pity dose humans should dey ever set foot here again. Mother Nature's lands are in good hands, dorogwiye devushki. My most sincere compliments!" North said with a wink and a small salute.

"Speaking of your sister, shouldn't you be contacting her about...all this?" Kozmotis intervened with a motion towards the leveled clearing and the still-smoking machines. Nia's brows furrowed and she twisted her lips as she surveyed the damage.

"Yeah...she'll want to get this cleaned up ASAP. These jungles are in enough danger as it is." She murmured, and walked to a spot in the middle of the clearing where she cleared the ground of debris and kneeled. Before my eyes, a single vibrant green sprout came curling up out of the ground, growing into a single slender orchid branch. One tiny flower was clinging to the vine for dear life, its curling gossamer petals of quivering timidly in the stiff breeze. It wasn't like any orchid I'd ever seen (not that I'd really ever seen many, mind you.) It was very delicate, with long tails. Its center started as a deep indigo, trailing into a rich persimmon, then golden orange, and finally pale gold with fuschia freckles on the outer edges.

"If only the Egg Tulips grew that fast," Bunny muttered, impressed as Nia kneeled beside it, cupping the moribund blossom with infinite tenderness in her hands.

"How did...what is that?" I asked to no one in particular, and Kozmotis spoke up from behind Tooth.

"That is Ekaterina's personal symbol. She calls it the Ignis Vitae Orchid."

"It's her way of letting me know what areas most need her help. It helps me open a link from the energies of the land to her powers. Just watch." Nia murmured with a soft curl of the corner of her mouth and then leaned over the orchid, breathing softly over it. Hints of gold magic drifted on her breath, touching the orchid and igniting it. With a vivacious snap!, the whole plant caught fire and burned bright as Nia stood and backed away from it.

When the orchid turned to ashes, everything was still for only a few seconds before the ground rumbled beneath us, and a blanket of green sprung up under our feet. Shoots became sprouts, and those became saplings that shot up at a thousand times the normal pace of a tree, becoming towering behemoths taller than some skyscrapers. Vines and crawlers creeped up the trunks and over the ground, blossoming with dazzling flora and mouthwatering fruits. Ferns and brush also burst up and with that, the dizzying transformation was complete. What had been a tarnished pockmark was now fertile, thriving jungle, sewn seamlessly back into the rest of the rainforest.

Safe to say, my jaw was on the ground.

When I looked back at Nia, she was gazing around at the restored jungle, hands on her hips, a satisfied smile on her lips. Then she looked at us and burst into laughter. She actually had to learn her hands on her knees, she was so hysterical.

"Y-you should see your faces, haheheee!" She stuttered and slapped her thigh. I felt my ears turn violet and frost over, and quickly shook off my embarrassment.

" W-well, can you blame us? It's not every day you get to see a Discovery channel documentary in fast forward. That was frikkin' impressive. Again, my compliments." I restated with a tip if my head. She nodded back in acknowledgement and tugged her bow from her back once more.

"Well, no use just standing here. Let's get a move on - the mountains are about a three hour hike from here, due North. Oh and, er, North, you might want to put a cloaking spell over the sleigh." Nia instructed with a toss of her thumb towards the reindeer, who had started sniffing the exotic plants around them curiously.

This was done, and just like that, we were underway in our search.

..:oOo:..


End file.
